Looking for the Age of Aquarius
by beaweasley2
Summary: After being in hiding for ten years, trying to blend in unnoticed and survive in a human culture that hates and suspects all Atrians, a young Atrian stuck on Earth finds hope when seven Atrian students are chosen to attend the local human high school in an integration program. What she hadn't expected was to find herself drawn to one of the Atrian boys.
1. Chapter 1

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

My name is Maureen, well, that's my human name. Maureen Stone. My real name sounded prettier, Mahureen, but no one uses it anymore – even my family. It's like they all forgot it. You see, I was born on a spacecraft that was fleeing my home world in hopes of colonizing a new one. But we crashed into a blue planet, Earth, and for the last ten years, Earth has been my home. Life hasn't been easy though. According to the humans, 'arrival day' was September 17, 2014, however it was almost two of their years before my family started using one of their calendars.

But arrival day as I remember it was horrible. The people of Earth were frightened of us, suspicious of our intent and unwelcoming to say the least. Their reactions provoked us, well some of us to fought back, and the two species began a war, one the humans won.

I am one of them, an Itrejivil, an Atrian, but my people, the Tgorasad (translated means mountain men or the mountain land tribes) had managed to get to the escape vessels: the life pods and drop crafts. Well most of us, a lot of them didn't. It had been pandemonium onboard the ship, people screaming, running everywhere, shoving each other, rushing to gather belongings, find family and, well, panicking as the ship lurched and lost stability.

My family and many of my tribe crammed into a drop ship like a nest of vebtars, some sitting two a seat, holding onto others. There was hardly room to breathe. But we weren't the only ones, loads of people escaped. Most of the life pods and drop crafts jettisoned safely, the automatic functions kicking in as they plummeted though the Earth's atmosphere. Unfortunately, many of the life pods had been shot down by human aircrafts. I had been told that approximately 3,184 persons survived the crash, but I think those numbers are optimistic.

Here's what I found out from our Iksen: Several of the drops ships had landed on land, but many fell into the Mississippi River or in some of the vast areas of coastal marshland, swamps and bayous. Good thing, too. The people who landed on land had been captured, if not shot on sight, and hoarded into a place called the Sector – a concentration camp for the Itrejivil and Tgorasad, the Atrians. We, our drop craft, had landed in a marshy area, and we used the cover the plants and mud gave us to escape. Apparently dogs can't follow people in mud, but it had been scary. Some of us had been mauled or fallen prey to creatures I later learned were alligators. Humans came in boats with guns, but we sunk down into the murky water and moved on, undetected. Of those who remained, many of us became sick and died that first year.

Some three or four hundred or so (again I think those numbers are optimistic) hid in a secret locations somewhere in the swamps of Louisiana. One is known Eljida, another place our kind has hidden in is Ukaenos, both a safe haven for the Atrians, but nearly impossible to get to.

There were other locations that my people tried to congregate in, two that I know of, and they tried to form a 'hidden home' but they had been destroyed and the Itrejival all supposedly killed. I think two of they had been bombed.

A six-year-old, Emery Whitehill, found the Zwahan Iksen's son, Roman, in their shed, and she tried to help him. But the soldiers found him and shot him. He survived, though.

Not everyone was so lucky.

My group, the people from my drop ship, we are mostly Sævad and Cæveh tribes although some Swamad and Zæsak are with us as well. Another drop ship carrying Zæsak, and Dævas landed near ours, and after a few years, we banded together. Mostly we are Tgorasad: the Zæsak, Sævad, Dævas and Cæveh tribes of the northern hemisphere. On the home world we lived in the upper hemisphere of our planet on the terrain extending from the coasts of the Sekrownoimhorze (the Straight Sea in English) to the mountain ranges, and from the Gwiazhds (the seven great lakes also called The Sisters) and Gwyzna (the three freshwater emhorze or seas) and Zwazeka or great rivers. Also called the East Continent, West Continent (or West Isles by the Itrejivil of the south) and the Island chains, One that is almost as big as your Australia and three close to the size of your New Zealand.

The vast majority of Itrejivil under the Zwahan who lived in the lower hemisphere of our planet, mostly along the coasts living in lagoons, rivers, and bayous territory (not to dissimilar to the area of Louisiana where we landed) and the Wyancuchs – several chains of large volcanic islands and small continents in the Tlyentyck Ojkeah, the Tlyentyck Sea. The other tribes are the Vwasak, who lived on the lands on the south shore of the Sekrownoimhorze – the Straight Sea; the Iwabas, the mystic tribe of Itrejivils who lived in the jungles and dense forests; the Swamad, the agricultural tribe on the large Alvidour Continent. They call themselves the Itrejivil tribes – the Itrejivil of the Itrejivil, whereas we are the Itrrjivil of the Tgorasad tribes. Yeah, confusing.

Or that is what the elders where I live taught us.

When the hunts died down, those on the outside, we built homes in the bayou, mostly submerged, and did our best to survive. Eventually, some of Tgorsad moved into homes on the edges of the human town of Edendale, but many of the Swamad and Zæsak in our group stayed in the bayou since their markings are so pronounced, so did the Iwabas.

I was raised to someday be Iksen of my people, since I am the only child of my mother. But for the last year, I have been taking my position seriously, and I've been active in my Hwatab, the council of elders. I have been taught both human and Itrejivil history and cultural studies, and all the sciences. I was also taught English and Spanish languages as well as Sondiv the Atrian language. I learned to write in human and kwandon, but I prefer kwandon. It's prettier. My guardian mother, Me-ma, prefers I write in the alphabet letters.

But even among my people I'm ubludnak, as my markings are pale, dusky spotting on the side of my face, going down the sides of my neck, on the right they come across my collarbone and down the side of my breast, on my left to my shoulder blades and down my side. My pattern is like a mild form of light splotchy hyperpigmentation that I can hide with makeup, but I don't bother most of the time. Mine are hardly visible, like many of the Sævad, but I never wear my thick blonde hair up if I am going to be around humans and layer the sides so that it obscures them somewhat.

The Sævad were mostly miners back on the home world, creators of the aqueducts and cave gardens (which were florescent and beautiful in my opinion). They lived mostly in the highlands, the mountains and valleys, hence the term high tribes. I suppose that's why for some of us our markings are ubludnak; we fluoresce when wet, but the visible contrast of our markings isn't as pounced as the other tribes. That has served us well these last ten years. That, and the procedure to remove our markings. We shared our valleys with the Cæveh: the builders and engineers, but most of them lived on the coastal plains of the east continent along the north of the Straight Sea.

The Dævas are known as the cultivators and healer tribe of the Tgorasad, but they were not as mystical as the Iwabas are. They lived mostly in the fertile areas along the rivers, deltas and lakes – and they are darker skinned with liner and oval markings all over their face, neck, arms and torso for camouflage in foliage. Then there are the Zæsak, our warrior tribe, who lived along the base of the mountains in the canyons and gorges to the coasts, mostly they were seafaring, and originally came from the west continent and island chains.

When I was twelve, some of my family went to New Orleans for a few days, and someone told Me-ma and Nanina that they looked like a Trill, whatever that is. I found out later they were trekkies; people in matching knit fabric costumes in bright red, gold and blue. Me-ma called them weirdoes.

Now ten years later, at the age of 17, my Me-ma and my father decided that it's safe enough for me to attend high school. The thing is, after I was enrolled, we found out that the local officials announced that seven of the Atrians would be attending school as well. I was so excited. More of our kind are starting at the same time, all of them my age. The other two Iksen were not as pleased as I was, but in the end my vote in the Hwatab was considered and so here I am on the stairs in the school atrium, one of the new girls, and I'm hardly noticed by anyone. Well a few seem to be curious, glancing at me and my two cousins, but I'm too excited to see the seven from the Sector, to meet them and talk to them.

Across the landing from where I and my two cousins are, I see a face I recognize. Standing by a very pretty blonde in a very fashionable outfit, was Zoeda, a girl I remembered from the ship: always angry, thought quite highly of herself, Iwabastribe, and cunning. Me-ma had warned me to keep away from her. The second thing I noticed was that I couldn't see her markings. I quickly look away when she turned her head in my direction and hoped she didn't notice me staring. What is she doing here?

I was about to say something to Justin, a boy from the Sævad miners, when the doors opened and the excitement (and in some cases annoyance) of the other students drew my attention.

I look down in time to see them walk in. The noise escalated as the Atrians are made to stand in a line facing us.

"Calm down," Loraine, my cousin so-to-speak, admonished me through clenched teeth.

"But we will finally know how many there are in the Sector and if they are all right, if they managed to salvage anything from the ship before the humans took over and to find out if the missing are in the Sector," I replied softly, hoping only she heard me. On the other side of her, Justin scowled. Apparently not.

Loraine turned to fully face me, leaning in close so only I will hear her. "You are to maintain a low profile, hear me?"

"For the protection of our people," I say softly the same time she does. "Yeah, I know," I admit sadly. My first concerns must always be to the safety and welfare of my people. But I have so many questions I want to ask, so many things I want to know.

The Atrian boy on the far left scanned the faces of the other students as the Atrian girl next to him said something to him. She looked intimidated as do the two on the far right. But standing in the middle, a girl with dark curly hair and a boy stood facing the students defiantly, unafraid. I couldn't take my eyes off the taller, muscular boy. He had very short, dark brown hair and very well built, watching the students mocking and talking about him and his friends with a bold confidence as if what they thought of him didn't matter to him in the least.

I completely ignored the group of boys standing on the other side of Justin as they verbally sized up the new arrivals, not that I couldn't hear their snide remarks of the Atrian girls looks. The Atrian boy on the left seemed to be staring at someone in particular with a look of recognition, and I followed his gaze; his eyes were focused on one girl in particular, steady enough that I hear someone on the other side of me comment, "Sees something he likes?"

"You can look but you can't touch, freak," her friend said.

I looked back down, watching the muscular Atrian as he squared his shoulders and stood proudly as if hardly caring he's on display. I can almost hear him think, 'That's right, take a good look.'

As the seven were led away, Justin touched my arm. "Time to go to class."

I nod silently, wondering who the boy is and what tribe he belongs to.

My first day was not so bad. I managed to avoid Zoeda, I have several lessons with the Atrians, and I made a new friend, Amy, much to Loraine's annoyance. There was some altercation and some insults were exchanged in first period; a boy named Erik made a snide remark about the Atrians remaining quite during the pledge of allegiance. "We're not citizens," I heard the cute Atrian say.

"Oh, that's right, you're Martians," Erik sneered.

"Well technically Martians are from Mars. We're from a far superior planet," the Atrian in front of them said, but the banter was squelched when the teacher started the lesson.

In chemistry, I saw the muscular Atrian and tried not to stare. He was leaning back in his seat, legs stretched out, arms crossed, watching everyone. He moved his feet as walked by him, and I sat down in the desk on the right, diagonally in front of him. As I pulled out my notebook from my bag, I snuck a peek and caught him watching me, but he turned his head and spoke to the Atrian boy with curly hair.

Beside the boy with curly hair sat another Artian girl with straight black hair; they both had prominent linear spotted markings on both cheekbones and a striated pattern on both sides of their necks. They both reminded me of what I'd been told of the Swamad tribes. I look at the three of them sitting in a row, wondering how they felt about always being starred at. As if to answer my question, the muscular one turned and looked at me, his eyes narrowing inquiringly, and I quickly turned to face the front of class.

I waited, fully alert, hoping to hear the Atrian's names called when Mr. Jacobsen called roll, but he skipped them. I suppose there is no point; naturally he'd know their names.

I like Mr. Jacobson with his pristine lab coat, dark skin, salt-and-pepper goatee and glasses. He's funny in a nerdy kind of way, and I know his classes will be interesting.

All of the seven were in my biology class, but so was Zoeda, sitting next to the pretty blonde, popular girl. Miss Benton, our biology teacher is nice, but Mr. Burke, her assistant, frightens me in the way he looks at the Atrians. The Atrian girl with curly hair, sat behind me. She looked like she'd rather be anywhere else than here.

I have to take US History this year, a prerequisite for Government, which is requirement for graduation, as do apparently do the seven Atrians. Mr. Hoover seems all right. Firm, no nonsense. I get to sit next to Emery Whitehill and the Atrian girls. (I knew this made Loraine unhappy, but Emery did try to talk to her.) Justin who got stuck on the side of the room, watched us, his customary scowling in place.

Sophia introduced herself right away and then introduced me to Teri and Lynne (the Atrian girl in my chemistry class) who sat on the other side of Sophia. Her brother Roman. Sophia was really nice. I could tell she was intimidated by the other students, not that I blamed her, but Mr. Hoover asked for our attention before I could ask her what the other's names were, the muscular Atrian and the other two boys sat behind us.

Teri still looked like she'd rather be anywhere else. And although I don't have any Atrians in my Spanish class, (yes, I have to formally take a language to graduate) three of them are in my Advanced Algebra lesson, including the muscular one. I finally found out his name is Drake, after an incident at lunch when Roman spoke to Emery about joining her extracurricular charitable club.

Back at home, Me-ma warned me to be careful of whom I befriend. "They will become curious, and you have to be on constant guard on what you say. Don't start lying to protect your secrets, lies have a way of becoming complicated, and you'll eventually be found out."

"But I thought that—"

"You were sent to school to get an education, not to make friends," she said, walking away.

End of discussion. Great.

~~~~~o~~~~~

When I entered chemistry the next day, Drake had his feet stretched out again. "Excuse me please," I said, stopping by beside him.

He looked up at me and for a moment I was dumb struck by how blue his eyes are. He smirked and shifted his feet to let me pass. I murmured, "Thank you," to him, still staring at his eyes, but he turned his head and leaned toward his friend.

Just as well, I sighed setting my things down. I don't know what I'd expected, but it was apparent he had no interest in me.

"Miss Stone, please be seated," Mr. Jacobson admonished me.

I looked up suddenly and quickly sat down. I hadn't realized I'd been holding up class, staring at Drake. I quickly set my pen, notebook and i-Tablet on my desk.

"Tomorrow you will all be assigned lab partners," Mr. Jacobsen said, before turning on the hologram projector. "And to let you know, there will be a quiz on Thursday, so I expect you to have learned the elementary table."

Several people around me groaned, but I simply turned on my i-Tablet and picked up my pen.

That day at lunch, Taylor, the most popular girl in school, approached Loraine, Justin and me just as we'd found a place to eat. "You're the Stones, right? You live on Mallow Crescent," she said, indicating Loraine and me.

"Yes, Loraine and Justin are my cousins," I said as if well-rehearsed, which it had been, but Loraine gave me an annoyed grimace.

"Yeah, right," Taylor said as if it didn't matter. "Let me see your phone?"

Loraine and I both turned to pull our phones out of our bags, but Justin had his out first. "Why?" he asked.

Taylor tapped her phone to his. "It's a party at the abandoned farm house. Everyone's going; you should come." She tapped her phone to mine next.

"Thank you. We'll be there," I said, looking at the invite.

"Me-ma won't let you," Justin stated.

"She will if you go," I point out to him. "Besides, what harm can there be going to a party?"

Loraine rolled her eyes as she sipped her green drink, but I could tell that she wanted to go as much as I did. In fact, she asked me what I was going to wear, but Justin cut us off. "We're not going to talk about clothes and makeup."

"All right, but then we're not going to talk about fishing or cars either," Loraine said and I snickered.

"Then we can talk about which TV show we're going to watch tonight," he said and bit off the corner of his sandwich.

"Benton Heights," Loraine and I said and he frowned. "You can watch monster trucks in your room," Loraine added.

As I sat eating my sandwich and green drink Nanina packed that morning, I noticed that Roman was drawing a lot of attention from the other students for talking to Emery about the charity she was supporting. As he walked away, Erick and a few other boys stood up and confronted him and tensions in the room escalated. I looked at Loraine, but she shook her head. The next thing I saw was Drake and Teri walking up to support Roman, but Drake stopped her from doing anything rash. Roman and Teri walked away, Teri with a look that given any provocation she'd hit one of the boys, but Drake shook his finger in warning at Erik, a silent declaration that he was lucky this time that things hadn't come to blows, before following his friends.

"See, its nothing," Loraine said as the tree Atrians walked away.

"I dunno, it – it has to be hard, you know," I said, glad that Drake and Roman took the more mature way out of the situation.

But the next day, as I was walking with Loraine in the corridor, we saw three boys, Erick, Brock and another I didn't know, harassing Sophia. Roman came to her rescue, but a brawl broke out. Loraine and I drew close together against the lockers as we watched, but the guards broke up the fight, shoving the human boys as they pinned Roman to the wall. As the guards took Roman away, I hurried over to Sophia. "Are you all right?" I asked, but she nodded, even though I could see she was obviously shaken up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, her eyes, haunted with fear, following her brother.

Drake and Teri came up to us, and Drake demanded to know what had happened. Sophia told them it was nothing, but I shook my head and told him briefly what I had seen. Drake punched the locker hard in anger, and I flinched at his violent outburst as Teri moved closer to Sophia. "Thanks, but we got it from here," she said snidely.

I looked at Sophia, hoping she'd say something, but she looked away as Loraine touched my arm. "We have to get to class," Loraine said.

"Mind if I walk with you?" I asked Sophia, gently touching her arm. I knew she was still upset over the incident and worried for her brother. "We're going in the same direction anyway."

Teri glared at me, but Sophia nodded, a small smile stretching her lips slightly. "Thank you," she murmured softly.

Drake stared at me with a look I couldn't decipher as Loraine and I turned and walked in silence to Biology next to Sophia. "Not everyone is like that," I told her.

"Want to bet?" Drake said angrily behind us. I turned my head to look at him but he looked beyond me, refusing to meet my questioning gaze.

That night as I picked at my dinner, I thought about the way the human students were treating the Atrians, and about the boys harassing Sophia. I had heard that Teri had nearly gotten into a fight with two boys except that the guards had stepped in and told her to go to class. I wondered what had proved her. And the protesters were in front of the school every morning when the seven Atrians arrived at school and when they boarded the bus to return to the Sector.

It amazed me that they were holding up as well as they were, but they did stick together, and I was sure that helped. I doubted that if I was in their shoes I'd be able to handle it with as a forging grace as Sophia did. I was not a fighter like Teri, but I did tend to stand up for my friends. Words, I had been taught as a child to use my words, find an amicable solution, to resolve conflicts with reason and tact. Justin was more of a hothead like Teri, and Loraine was bookish, she'd back away unless cornered. I had hoped that if the other students got to know the Atrian seven that it might be possible for some of the animosity to die down, but apparently I was wrong.

"What's wrong," Me-ma asked.

Loraine began telling her what was going on at school. "It's not all that bad," I said, not wanting Me-ma to pull us out of school. Loraine shot me an incredulous stare. "Not all of them are awful. Some like Emery, Amy and Taylor are rather nice to them."

"A small few in a school of over four hundred," Loraine stated despondently.

"Five hundred, according to the website. And besides, you and I both know that other minorities had the same problems at first. Look how they treated the blacks, and that took ages," I pointed out.

Nanina put down her fork. "Sweetie, you can't rush things. Humans still don't trust us, and they might not ever."

"And they won't unless we show them that we are just people," Me-ma said gently. "It will take time."

"It took blacks nearly a hundred years." I put my hands over my face with my elbows on the table and groaned. "It's not fair."

"Elbows off the table, Maureen," Me-ma admonished me. "And sit up straight. Both of you."

"Yes, Me-ma," Loraine and I said in unison as I did as told.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day, Jason Mason and Byron Walsh, two guys my age in our extended 'family' enrolled. I knew that it was because of the trouble the Atrians were having, but it was like having your brother, sister and two cousins in your school – in the same year you are. What did the other two Iksen think I was going to do, announce that I was Atrian to the seven? Give a 'I have a Dream' speech in the quad? I know better than that. Luckily the seating arrangements had already been made in all my classes, so I wouldn't have them sitting next to me. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't that I didn't like my cousins, but I did wonder who else the Iksen would enroll in Marshall High School. But then, most of the Atrians in my 'family' had prominent markings, except for those who had opted to have them removed, but the pain involved discouraged most of them to do it, even if it meant hiding or living underground.

When I entered chemistry Drake had his feet stretched out again. "Good morning," I said stopping by his desk.

Drake stared at me as if no one had ever said that to him. "May I get by?" I asked, pointing at his feet. He pulled his feet under his desk and I smiled and nodded. "Thank you," I said.

"Sure," he said and opened his book. A clear dismissal.

I sat down in my seat and took out my things for class. Across the room, Jason frowned and shook his head.

"I hope you all studied for your quiz last night," Mr. Jacobson said as he handing a stack of papers to the people in the front row to pass back, and everyone moaned. "Put everything away, take one and pass the others back. You have one hour."

I took a copy of the quiz and handed the remaining back, glancing briefly at the Atrians. The boy with curly hair gave me a quizzical look and Drake turned in my direction as well. I could feel my face blush as I quickly turned around. What was wrong with me? I know he's good looking, but really, he's only a boy. I read the quiz over and smiled. None of the questions seemed all that difficult, but I took my time making sure I was thorough and as accurate as possible. But then with the elemental table prominently displayed on the wall, several of the questions were literally in our faces. Each time I looked up, I could see several others peeking at the poster as well, however, Mr. Jacobsen didn't seem to care if we did.

When I finished my exam, I walked it up to Mr. Jacobsen's desk. Although I wasn't the first one done, most of the class was still writing. I turned to walk back to my seat and almost collided into Drake. "Oh, I'm sorry," I muttered in surprise. "I didn't see you."

"That's surprising," he and huffed a soft laugh. "You had no problem seeing me before."

I could feel my face warm as I stared at him in embarrassment. "I – I. Excuse me," I stammered, knowing full well I was blushing again. I moved forward quickly and returned to my seat. When the bell rang, I took my time gathering my things so he could leave first. I didn't need another reason to gape at him again.

"What did you think you were doing staring at that Atrian in chemistry?" Jason snapped at me, pulling me aside after class. I could see Drake and his friends in the hall, and he turned when he heard the word Atrian, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Nothing," I replied, well, almost shrieked, yanking my arm free of Jason's grasp. "I thanked him, and he looked at me funny." Drake was still watching us, even though his friend with the curly hair was talking to him.

"You were standing there like an idiot," Jason snapped, although he'd lowered his voice.

"I was not," I hissed back. "I—" But I had been, and now as I quickly glanced in Drake's direction, I could see he was still watching us.

"Don't," Jason said as Byron and Loraine walked over to us.

My eyes snapped to his. "What?" I said, louder than I intended, but he was making me angry. "Don't be polite to them? Don't say hello? Don't make eye contact? Is that what we were taught to be – to be rude to people?"

Jason looked up and exhaled loudly. "No, but—"

"No buts. If I want to talk to them, I will. If I want to befriend them, I will," I said and jabbed my finger in his chest. "And you're not to tell me not to."

I shoved him out of my way and hurried to biology. Drake looked at me as I approached. "Hi," I tried to say in a friendly tone, but so did Justin, and I flinched as in frustration at my 'cousin' who made it sound contrite.

Drake said, "Hi," back. When I turned to smile at Loraine because he'd actually spoken to me, I noticed that Drake had turned and he was still watching me as I walked away.

Now feeling conscientious that he was watching me, I tried to slow my pace as I hurried to class, but I knew he was behind me. Get a grip, I admonish myself.

In Biology, Miss Benton kept walking around the room as she talked, and when I looked up at her, between taking notes on her lecture, I tried not to stare at Drake, who was leaning back in his chair, but he saw me, only this time his expression was curious not dismissive like before. I tried to keep my attention on our teacher or on my notes, but each time I turned to look at Miss Benton, Drake seemed to be in my line of vision. Across the room by the windows, Miss Benton began asking questions, calling out names at random. It became clear after the first few who had read the chapter and who hadn't. My question wasn't one of the hard ones, but when I looked up to answer her, Drake was staring at me. I averted my gaze to Miss Benton as I gave my answer, but when she told me I was correct, I couldn't help myself as my gaze lowered to where Drake was sitting. He winked at me, making me blush as I quickly turned my head. Why in the world am I so enthralled with him?

"Could you be any more obvious?" Loraine whispered to me.

"Loraine Stone, answer the question," Miss Benton said.

I smirked, I knew that Loraine hadn't heard the question, but then I had been so distracted that I hadn't either. I looked at my cousin and waited, trying not to smile, but after a short interval as Loraine tried to come up with an acceptable answer, Emery raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Whitehill?"

Emery answered the question, and Miss Benton nodded. In the row behind me, Drake smirked and turned his head to say something to Roman. I looked at my tablet. I'd typed Drake's name in my notes.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Friday night Loraine, Justin, Jason and of course Byron and I all arrived at the abandoned farmhouse on a back country road. The party was already in full swing as we walked up to where everyone was congregating. Music blasted as the students stood around, talking and drinking from big red cups.

"I'll check on what's being served," Justin suggested, and he and Byron walked over to where the drinks had been set up. We can't drink sodas, it has caffeine and although I've never had one, we're not to drink beer either. A few people were dancing, others simply stood around talking as Loraine and I slowly moved forward, looking to see who all had been included. I saw Emery talking to Grayson; Amy was with her two other friends, laughing. Taylor and Zoeda were talking to two boys; well, Taylor was – Zoeda looked bored. I'd been a week at this school and hardly knew anyone.

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that none of the seven Atrians had been invited.

Byron and Justin returned holding cups filled with water. "It's all there is," Justin stated.

I shrugged. It was better than nothing and if I played it off right, no one need be the wiser. A black boy, Lukas, came up to us, made some dance moves as he asked us to dance. Loraine and I did for a bit, until the song changed.

I was just starting to relax, feeling like introducing myself to another small group of students, when Taylor came running back to the group shouting, "Hey, you need to see this."

Everyone followed, some running after her. When I got there, I moved to stand beside Byron as Erik demanded, "Who did this?" Someone had tied Brock, (I heard his name muttered around me) to a postbox mounted on an old metal spoke wheel.

Suddenly Drake appeared, saying, "We're going to have a little talk," as he removed his zip up hoodie, wearing a white tank that showed his markings clearly in the moonlight. My heart quickened as I watched him, knowing what was happening. He and Erik stood nose to nose, and several people began to move back, giving them room for the impending fight.

"This ends tonight," Erik said to Drake angrily, and Drake gasped his shoulder.

"For once we agree," Drake said, and then Drake head-butted Erik and hit him with a sound right hook. Erik stumbled to the ground, his nose bleeding. Drake started yelling at everyone that he was sick of it, it was to be over, their being messed with everyday.

I was stunned at his anger, although why I was didn't make sense; he was right, enough was enough. The three Atrians who stood behind Drake, boys I've never seen before, large, strong-looking, stood firmly supporting Drake. One of them nodded, another flexed his muscles, making fists. They looked ready to fight as Drake said he and the others were done taking their crap and that they would retaliate if it didn't stop.

I wanted to agree with him, but I held my tongue.

Then suddenly someone rushed at Drake, and for a moment I thought they were going to fight, but it was Roman. Justin was trying to pull me back, to come away as Roman and Drake argued. "You should be fighting alongside me instead of against me," I heard Drake shout.

"Cops," someone shouted and I turned, see the flashing lights.

"We are leaving, now," Byron said as Jason grabbed my arm, pulling me away. "Now, Maureen," Byron shouted as I ran, following them toward Byron's car. Everyone was scrambling to get away, and even though I tried to look back, Justin grabbed my hand, forcing me to keep up with him. When we jumped into Byron's car, the car pulling away even before I had time to close the door, I wondered if the Atrians got away safely.

All the way home the guys talked about the close call and Drake's standing up for the Atrians. "He's right you know," I heard Loraine say. "Enough is enough."

"I hope so," I said, looking out of the window.


	2. Chapter 2

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 2 ("These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends")

Sunday, we learned from the a.m. newscasts, all of them, that there had been an explosion at the Sector, injuring some of the human SEU personnel. Thankfully no one had been killed. Only that 'a militant group of Atrians' had sought retribution for the killing of their leader, Nox. Technically he was our leader as well, although the northern tribes, all four of them, would turn to me as their leader and hold me equal to the High Iksen someday. Iksen of the Tgorasad, the Atriarch of the highland tribes.

But for now, Ihmen (the Second Dævas' Iksen, Meheka's daughter) and I are being groomed for our roles in the Tgorasad. I truly love and respect Meheka, have always loved her stories, and I used to spend what time I could with her learning our ways and listening to her talk about the histories of our people. In many ways she is my mentor, although I had to spend equal time with the other Iksens as well. But Meheka is old and frail, and she had been injured when the ship crashed; it had been a miracle that she survived. Jerdon, the Cæveh Iksen since the time when we were hiding in the bayou, is our formal history teacher, but listening to him is like being in school, and he assigns us actual homework and reading. I have no idea how, but at some point be obtained a down load of our educational files from the ARDhet, our spaceship. He is the father of four boys and one girl, but she has a family of her own now.

So I'm learning how to be a good Iksen.

Robert Grund, our Zæsak Iksen, he's been missing for a while now, and we have no idea where he went or what happened to him. He thought that Atrians were being held in science and medical facilities being experimented on and led a warrior unit to find them. I fear the worst, that he may be dead. But neither of the Zæsak Iksen's young sons were named, and since both are _too_ young, there will be a challenge for the position. I hope Ian Gordon is chosen, but it's not up to me. Byron's elder brother, Sephen wants to be Iksen, but he's training to be a scout and always disapproving about our restrictions.

Monday morning as I'm getting ready for school, the news broadcasts led off with updates of the explosion, but they weren't saying anything new. I liked Nox, well, what I knew about him. I rarely saw him in person, and we hadn't formally met, but he and Gloria Garcia from my school were on the news a lot as Nox tried valiantly to find a way for our people to coexist amicably. My heart breaks as I think about him and what he tried to do for our people, and I know that today will be hard on Sophia and Roman especially. I know that I can't attend Nox's akhmar, and it would tip them to my secret if I gave Sophia crushed ciper, ground lkythoi (a herb of rejuvenation), or flora ikphora oil, but I feel we should at least do something, and a human sympathy cards seems so inadequate to me.

I entered my school English Lit class and took my seat. The seven Atrians were already there, all of them in white. I wore white today as well, out of respect, not that I could tell them that. My heart went out to Sophia the moment I saw her. I can tell when someone is putting on a brave face when all they want to do is curl up and cry. Roman touched her back, saying something before they sat down, and for once, Teri looked thoughtful instead of angry. I glanced at Drake, wondering how he was taking the news and if he'd known Nox well. I'm sure he did; he and Roman seem like they are best friends. The sleeveless cowl-necked tee he's wearing showed off his neck and shoulder markings, nice bold markings, thick over the shoulder cap with extending streaks and striations, like a paint splatter. He turned to look at me, and I gave him a sad smile, but he simply leaned back in his chair and tapped his pen on his desk.

All around me, the attack at the sector and Nox's murder, was all anyone was talking about. The hologram of school principle announced his sympathies to the Atrians and warned that any outbreaks of violence would not be tolerated, and that extra security would be added on campus. Great, more guards in the halls, just what we need. The announcement of the cancelling of Homecoming carnival made Taylor proclaim that she was all for equality, but the cancelling of her traditions would make her go turbo bitch.

I agreed with Drake when he stated, "You guys murdered our leader, and your worried about canceling some weird ritual about, what? Going home?"

I'd had questions about the tradition too, well more on its origins. I knew about homecomings from watching TV and movies: pep rallies, bonfires, fireworks over the local colleges, homecoming dances. Not that I've seen any announcement for a homecoming dance, but I had been hopeful. But I have been looking forward to going to the carnival. Carnivals could be fun. It was free to all students and was to feature live entertainment, rides, a multiple of games, prizes, food and a great time for everyone. The carnival was to get everyone in the mood for the big game on Saturday. There would be a picnic style dinner, and at 9 o'clock, there would be a huge bonfire at the a pep rally hosted by Ben Young of Bailey Enterprises with speeches from the school's Athletic Director, Blaine White, school football coach, Terrance Quinn and of course our football team and the cheerleaders.

I heard Lukas asking Emery if her father was all right, and she said she didn't know. It had to be tough, knowing her father killed the Atrian leader, accident or not.

One of the human boys snidely commented that Emery's dad was a hero.

In chemistry, I had to stop and ask Drake to move his feet, and for the first time, I had a very good, close look at his shoulder marking. I gripped my bag so I'd not make a fool of myself and touch it. Drake looked up at me expectantly, clicking his pen. "Oh, you're… Do you mind?" I stammered.

"No, I don't mind at all, stare away," he said calmly, and I turned my head, closing my eyes as I exhaled, hoping I'm wasn't turning red.

"I can't get by," I replied as I turned back to him.

He smirked and moved his feet, sitting up. "Take a picture since you like what you see so much," he said softly.

"Thank you," I mumbled as moved to my seat. However, I pulled out my phone along with my i-Tablet, notebook and pen. I turned quickly and snapped his picture, much to Drake's surprise. I turned around to face front with a smug smile on my face as Mr. Jacobson walked in. Drake did tell me to, and he's so adorably cute. I quickly checked the image and smiled; it was a really good one, surprisingly enough. Apparently Drake is really photogenic.

Mr. Jacobson started his lecture by naming off the assigned lab partners, and I was named as Drake's. I could hardly believe it – lab partners! For the first time ever I'm glad that I had to take Chem 1 and 2 this year and not Advanced Chem as I had wanted when I enrolled. I get to work with Drake!

But as our teacher began his lecture on base compounds, from chapter three, my mind wandered. I was still very curious about which tribe Drake belonged to. I remember what Jerdon said regarding the types of markings normally associated with the various tribes, but he warned us that over time and as populations grew, the people of other territories moved, mixed and so the markings had evolved. But still, some traits were hereditary. 'Heavy wide banding with long stripe like extensions…' He's not Dævas, he's strongly built, but a fighter's frame… 'wide splotch with tendril-like lines and spotting' – they were common among the Vwasak, but Vwasak had heavy splotched neck markings, and Drake's were more linear and mostly on one side, like the Swamad or really more like our Cæveh. However the Cæveh had darker skin tones.

"Miss Stone," Mr. Jacobson called out. "Name the main principle in the Bronsted-Lowry theory, please."

I tapped my pen as I tried to recall the main principle from last night's reviewing of the chapter. One of my extended family, David Kraft, had been one of my science and chemistry tutors, and he'd be livid if I'd forgotten this one. Oh lordy, I know this one. I smiled slightly as it came to me. "Any proton donor is an acid, and any proton acceptor is a base."

"Very good, Miss Stone," Mr. Jacobson said. "Now please, pay attention."

Embarrassed, I opened the chapter up on my i-Tablet to follow along with the lecture.

At break I opened up a P3 protein pack with turkey and almonds as I walked with Jason to my locker. I saw Amy and waved. "I'm out of here," Jason said, "Remember what I said."

"There is more at stake now, and I have to be careful – I know," I said rolling my eyes and acknowledged Amy's arrival with a warm hello. "You'll never guess what idiocy I did in chem?" I asked her.

"Tripped over a pair of Atrian boots?" she asked.

I hope that my infatuation with Drake wasn't as apparent to everyone else as it was to Amy and Loraine. "No, I took his picture." I told her what he said, and Amy laughed.

"You didn't?" she asked, and I showed her the picture. "Of all the guys to swoon over, not that I can't see he's hot, but really? He's an Atrian – it's not allowed, is it?"

I shrugged, still looking at the picture as I ate a bite of cheese, and she laughed at me. "You're hopeless. I'll see you in PE," she said and hurried off.

I caught Drake watching me when I entered Biology, but I tried to pass it off as no big deal. I really did like him in sleeveless tops, it accentuated his strong arms so well. Loraine asked me for my assignment, and I pulled it out so she could take it up to Miss Benton's desk along with hers.

It wasn't until History before I had a chance to talk to Sophia. "I know it's lame, but here," I said, handing her the card.

She looked at it with a crease forming between her brows.

"I'm sorry about your dad, really I am."

Her lips stretched a little bit, but not quite into a smile. "Thanks."

I watched her open the card. I really wish I could have given her a nice ikphora oil instead. Rosemary would have been nice or even night jasmine.

"It's pretty," she said, and I waited until she'd read it. I hadn't expected for her to start tearing up though, and I quickly handed her a tissue from my purse. "Thank you," she said, closing it and accepting the tissue.

When I turned to face front I realized that Mr. Hoover was watching us, but he simply started class and never said anything about us holding up his lecture.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Tuesday evening in The Mug Bug, the teen hang out in town, everyone was buzzing about Emery campaigning at a school board meeting to allow the Atrians to attend the school's homecoming carnival. Someone had recorded her speech and uploaded to a blog, because now it was playing on everybody's phones, tablets and even on the video screens in the eatery.

I saw Amy in a booth with her friend VinceAnne and waved. She waved back, summoning me to join her, but Loraine and Justin were maneuvering me to another booth. As I slid into the booth, I heard Erik tell Emery that if anything went down, the blood would be on her hands, but Zoeda quickly walked up to her and told Emery that what she did was, "Seriously bad ass," witch completely surprised me. I turned my head so that Zoeda wouldn't see me.

I leaned over to Justin, and Loraine leaned forward too. "Did you see that?" I asked, indicating Zoeda. "She's actually being nice to Emery? I thought all the Atrians were hating her over what happened. Even Roman is avoiding her."

"I haven't seen Zoeda socialize with anyone but the queen bees," Loraine stated. "But you're right, odd her chumming up with Emery, even if she did stick up for the Atrians to attend carnival."

"No one knows she's Itrejivil," Justin whispered, barely audible above the noise. "Maureen, you're smart to avoid her."

"I'm still surprised that she hasn't recognized us," I said as Jason and Byron appeared with mini cheese burger sliders, sweet potato fries and bottled waters for everyone.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Wednesday I felt bad for the seven Atrians. Everyone around us was talking about the carnival and homecoming, and I knew they'd be left out. It wasn't fair. The game was on Saturday and so far there had been no announcement that they'd be able to attend the game either. So much for integration and good will. We were assigned our first book report in English Lit from the junior high reading list, so I turned to Emery which one she thought she'd do first. I'd have to check Amazon and eBooks to read the synopsis and download a few.

Emery and I were comparing thoughts on the reading list when Sophia walked up to us in the hallway. "I never thanked you for the card," she said.

"Yes you did," I said and remembered that actually she'd thanked me for the tissue. "It was a really hard day for you, understandably. How is your mom…?" I paused, hoping her mom was still alive. After everything me and the people in my drop ship went through, the terrible losses we had even after combining with the other group in the bayou, I had no idea what 'arrival day' had been like for her and her family. Then I remembered seeing a very pretty brunette with lovely markings standing next to Nox in several of the broadcasts.

"She's all right; thank you for asking," Sophia said. "Cards, that's a human tradition, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, I know you give perfumed oils," I started to say and stopped myself in time, adding, "and flowers, but I thought that a bouquet would be a little cumbersome at school."

I listened as she told Emery and me about the ritual of crushing ciper, and putting it and ground lkythoi on the body to prepare it for burial. "We also get ikphora oil, a fragrant oil from flowers to use in a diffuser in the home. It makes it smell like a meadow," she said, and I smiled, thinking 'or a florist' as she tried to describe the scent of her favorite Atrian flower.

I knew her favorite flower well, we have some growing in our greenhouses. We have a cul-de-sac house development, 48 houses lining two streets and several have small greenhouses and gardens for our plants and herbs. About six years ago, the elders bought land, newly opened on the outskirts of town, and only newly rezoned for building although it was still considered 'unincorporated' due the late filing of certain forms and filings when we built the housing tract, and all the homes have extensive 'basements' and tunnels. If there is one thing my tribe knows is how to make water tight basements and tunnels, underground cisterns and habitats. Homes for all two hundred and ninety seven of us. Well basements for more than two thirds, only the people who can conceal their marks can live in the open, obviously.

When I said I wanted to go to Marshal High, my family pushed through a sale of a old apartment building and refurbished it, completely remolded it to our needs, so that Loraine, Justin and I would be in the right school zone. It's not the only apartment building we own; we have a few.

Did I mention that I have a big extended family? IfEljida and Ukænos had some 300 or 400 people living there, and we initially numbered somewhere between 300, well, over 340 now with another 19 to what, 25 I'd heard, collectively in the old bayou hideout after we moved to the housing development, that's 1,019 to 1,065 – with a hundred or so collectively living in small pockets of the bayou, that's 1,119 to 1,165 people, roughly, that we knew about. So the Sector had to have over 2,000 people living there, but from what I've seen of it on the news, newspapers and online, it's not that big. So where are all our people? That's why I still think that 3,184 survivors of the crash is a really optimistic number. But what do I know. There are so many people who are missing or assumed dead. I wish I could ask Sophia about some of them, but I can't. It's depressing.

I said good bye to my friends and hurried to chemistry. Today was the first day of lab, and I was excited. Too excited.

Drake was already at our work station, and he frowned as I walked in just before the bell. As I sat down my things, embarrassed that he already has our materials as well. "I'm sorry, I was waylaid," I said, taking note of what he had before him: a candle, match box (I assume had matches), two beakers - one small one and one very tall, large one, a sixteen ounce glass measuring cup, baking soda, small marked bottles of vinegar, hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide. "Great. A big foamy mess we get to clean up afterwards," I moaned.

"If you don't like chemistry why did you take it?" Drake asked.

"I love chemistry," I said, sitting on my stool. I did; and not just because I got to ask Drake to move his feet for me every day. I love chemistry. "I just know these two. The carbon dioxide makes a foamy substance caused by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide."

He looked at me as if I just spoiled the surprise at Dinaskyu. "One of my uncles," I have to stop calling everyone cousin, aunt or uncle – he'll think we're all a nest of vebtars, "is a chemist, and he used to tutor me. We had fun burning and blowing things up. Don't worry, I won't tell you the other one." I already knew that mixing baking soda and vinegar together produces carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so it will sit in the bottom of the glass measuring cup. When you pour the gas from glass onto the candle, the carbon dioxide will sink and replace the oxygen-containing air surrounding the candle essentially suffocating the flame and it goes out. That one is not so bad, and there is no mess afterwards.

"The way you get distracted all the time, I thought I'd be paired with a dead weight," he said.

I smirked. "No, I won't hold you back or do anything stupid. This," I indicated the room, "is all review for me." He gave me a quizzical look, and I smiled. I wish I had my phone out, then I could take another picture. "I didn't formally take chemistry as a homeschooled subject so I didn't have any test results for the administration when I enrolled, so instead of advanced Chem, I was put in this class – the prerequisite."

"So you won't be cheating off me," he said.

"Nope," I replied as Mr. Jacobson began to outline our projects.

"When you've cleaned up, finish the questions for chapter two – due on my desk by the end of the period. For chapter three, you and your lab partner will have to decide who does the odd ones and who will answer the even," he stated.

I buried my face in my hands. "Didn't do your homework? Not a very auspicious start," Drake chided me.

"No, I already did chapter three," I replied.

He raised his eyebrows at me and tilted his head.

"You can do either the odds or the evens, and I'll cross them off and give you my paper tomorrow," I suggested.

"Fine, I'll take even," he said, pouring the baking soda into the measuring cup.

Even huh? There were 29 or 31 questions, I thought as I lighted the candle for him. I didn't remember actually, but I knew that there had been an odd number of them; most of the chapter questions ended in an odd number. I let him pour in the vinegar and told him to tilt the measuring cup slowly over the candle. I put my head on my fist, elbow on the table, watching his expression as he extinguished the candle. If he was impressed he didn't show it.

I helped him put that one aside. "Now for the fun one," he smirked.

I sat up straighter. "You know this one?"

"Of course I do," he said with a cocky smile. "It makes a foamy mess, right?"

I laughed as he set up the beaker.

After we, well he, finished the experiment and we cleaned up the mess, I pulled out my answers to the assignment and took out my i-Tablet. I tried not to glance at Drake too often as he worked, but more than once he scowled at me, and I turned back to my reading. "You're distracting," he said softly.

So are you, I thought but he looked up at me and smirked. I hadn't realized I'd said it out loud.

"Maybe you should take another picture," he said, and I blushed. I still had it on my phone. "What did you do with the other one?"

"Oh, you know, put it on my wall," I said offhandedly but softly.

"I should pin you to my wall," he said, and I swallowed, the image of him pining me to the wall, leaning over me flashing in my mind.

Oh this was not good. I can't be thinking like this, that's not what he meant. I'm sure it's not what he meant.

Mr. Jacobson passed by and scolded me for not doing my assignment, so I handed him my homework, getting a surprised look from the teacher and Drake, and resumed reading my history eBook.

"So much for copying off you," Drake mumbled.

I knew he was kidding; my paper had been face down.

He glared at me and shook his head. "I don't need to copy from you, I can do this well enough on my own."

"I never doubted that," I said and left him to his work as I read.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Friday our school principle announced that he decided to reverse the decision of the council and allow the Atrian seven to attend Homecoming carnival. Reactions were decidedly mixed, but the majority was not in favor. Erik, Brock, Darrel and a few other seniors, were furious. But there was still no word as to if the seven Atrians students would be allowed to go to the football game. Wasn't that an American tradition, too, high school football? Why were they being excluded? At least they could go to the carnival.

As I was exchanging something in my locker, I overheard Taylor telling Emery that Erik's dad had owned a popular restaurant in Bunkhead, where they built the Sector, and that now his dad spent his time drinking his breakfast. That's horrible! No wonder Erik hated the Atrians so much. I tried to be discreet as I watched Taylor walk away, but a thought came to me. If Erik's dad had work, maybe he'd stop drinking, and Erik might lighten up over the Atrians. I could talk to the elders about it. I wondered what Erik's dad could do.

We had several small businesses, most online, and a few shops that had started out of our garages, so to speak. My guardian father had two automotive business that worked on electric cars AtriMotors and Atri-Automotive Service. They were doing well.

He and a few of the technicians made parts for the electric cars a few years back, greatly improving the performance and one of the men managed to get a patent for a battery, an Atrian battery, what had a much longer life and held a stronger charge than car battery the humans had. So we started AtriDel to produce them, and AtriSolaris, a subsidiary of AtriSolutions, marketed the engine recharging infrastructure modifications our mechanical engineers introduced. We made a fortune with that one and no one was the wiser that it was Atrian technology. Wiatri Kinetic introduced improved generation and retention infrastructure technology for wind turbines, that was an option. We used AtriErgii to introduce our solar and eclectic energy technology…

Whichever we chose, Erik's dad would need training, but there was an Atrian herb, if placed in a drink, that would make the drinker susceptible to suggestion. It was illegal to use it on Atria unless one was licensed, or so I was told, but it had been used for centuries as behavior modification for convict rehabilitation, habit modification and for those with mental conflictions and anger issues. But what was I thinking, there was no way I could get Erik's dad to drink it.

Emery walked over to Roman, and although I didn't hear what he had to say, when he walked away, she looked sad. I could understand that as the heir apparent Zwahan for Iksen of the Irejivil he couldn't develop a relationship with her, but Emery was one of the few humans in the school that liked Atrians, and she even supported the integration efforts. The least he could do was be nice to her.

All day, all I could think about was the carnival. I wished I could go with Drake, as a date, but other than some fugitive glances and some light teasing in chem, he hadn't really shown an interest in me. Of course we were back to his blocking my way as I entered chem; I know now he's doing it on purpose. But I can't help the flutter I get staring into his blue yes. I'm such a sap. And Jason is always teasing me about my 'crush' on Drake, not that it helps any. Even Amy commented.

That night I dressed carefully. I wanted to look cute but comfortable. I finally chose a pair of soft brown straight leg pants and brown ankle boots that I paired with a curve-hugging white blouse. I was by the carousel when the Atrians arrived. Drake looked so hot in his sleeveless vest and tank, showing off his gorgeous muscles and markings to their fullest, and I laughed softly when Drake tangled with the school mascot, even though I wondered what Taylor had said to him.

I thought it sweet with a little girl gave Teri a glow bracelet, it was the first time I'd seen a genuine smile on her face.

I saw Emery and Roman together several times at the carnival, and I felt sorry for her. She liked him, it was obvious and wanted to be friends, but he kept shoving her away.

By dusk, I ran into Drake, literally ran into him, and he grasped my arms to keep me from falling. "Hi," I said and wished I'd said something cooler. If I was like Taylor, he'd notice me, but unless its chem, I don't know what to say. "You should leave your prints," I said, pointing at the huge boulder near the bandstand.

"Leave my prints on what?" he asked, looking down at me in the same flirty way he'd looked at Taylor.

"On the rock," I said and pointed again. "I was about to. I hear it's a tradition – to leave your mark on the place. Do you want to?"

"Another weird human tradition?" he asked. "Sure, why not." We dipped our palms in the paint, and he held his up. "Now, where do I get to put these?" he asked, moving toward me.

"Not my clothes!" I blurted nervously as I backed up. "On the rock!" I said and walked up, placing my hands firmly on the rock. The next moment I felt Drake behind me as his hands landed on the rock, pressed firmly on either side of mine. I had to push back into him to keep from getting paint on my white blouse.

"Like this?" he asked in my ear.

His body was solid muscle, and I'm certain that if he removed his shirt his abs would be a perfectly sculpted six pack. I nodded mutely and turned my head. "Exactly like this," I breathed. My heart pounded so hard in my chest, I was sure he could hear it.

"Now this was fun," he said in my ear and pushed off the rock. After we washed our hands he asked, "What next?"

"One of the rides?" I suggested. I couldn't believe that he was hanging out with me. Me! We tried a few of the rides. Drake sat behind me in the Zodiac: 20 gondolas arranged in a circle, one in front of the other, that raised and tilted the frame, transforming the ride from a horizontal experience to a nearly vertical one. He refused to ride the Ferris Wheel or the Carousel, but he did like the Bumper Cars. Loraine, Justin, Sophia and Lynne rode Flyers with us, three sets of seats, four each, that turned in circles as the ride as a whole turned around. I liked seeing Drake smile as the carts swooped and turned. Loraine and Justin left after that one, she was feeling a little ill, and Sophia looked a little pale wanted to try an easier ride. Drake suggested the Caterpillar, and I was once again squashed against him when the cars picked up speed. After the next ride, Sophia and Lynne had had enough, and Drake took them to get something to drink.

I would have gone too, but Justin and Jason pulled me away. "You're spending too much time with him," Jason warned. "There are a lot of people here still scowling at the Atrians and watching every move they make. Don't draw so much attention to yourself."

I felt my shoulders slouch and sighed unhappily. I'd been having so much fun, and they had to come along and spoil it. I rode several of the rides with my cousins, okay, part of that extended family I have, but it wasn't as much fun as being on the rides as with Drake. Justin even commented that I should smile. "Can you at least look like you're enjoying yourself?"

I forced a smile at him.

Coming back from the restrooms, I saw Emery and Roman at Mammoth Rock, leaving their hand prints. But Teri walked up and said that Drake was missing. I immediately became worried, and when Roman left with Teri, I wanted to follow. I couldn't see Drake anywhere. Byron found me, but I insisted we find Drake. "I know there's trouble, I feel it," I told them. Byron nodded, and we kept an eye out for him.

As the sky turned dark, we still hadn't seen Drake anywhere. I saw Roman and Teri walking quickly, obviously looking for someone, and realized they were probably still looking for Drake. "Something's wrong," I told Byron. I told him what had happened at the party. "I thought things had gotten better?"

"No, you're right, we'll keep looking," Byron suggested.

I saw Erik pushing a trashcan – and it didn't seem right. Jason and Sephen, who had joined Byron and me, went off to follow Erik, and Byron and I followed Roman.

We saw Roman following a man in black jeans, T-shirt, and when we caught up to them, we saw that Roman and the man in the jacket were fighting. Byron and I hurried over to help. Roman and the guy fell into a man-made pond, but when they stood up, I froze. He had bleached markings – his markings were fluorescing – they were glowing! I heard Roman say, "Beaumont, what are you doing?" and felt a moment of suspended disbelief. "Beaumont – the SEU guard from school… is –is an Atrian? There are – a SEU guard an Atrian?" I whispered in astonishment, still not wanting to believe it was true.

"It's possible," Byron stated. I turned and gaped at him in utter shock as he moved closer to Roman and Beaumont so he could hear what was being said as Beaumont held a gun aimed at Roman's chest.

I heard Beaumont say that killing the daughter of the man who murdered Nox would send a message that they were serious about getting justice, and that some group called the Trags were building an army outside the sector, laying in wait for instruction, but from who he didn't say.

"We have to do something," I whispered.

"Hush," Byron hissed, waving me off. Roman grabbed the gun Beaumont held – pointed at Roman – holding it at the base of his neck, and I wanted to scream out, to call for help. I backed up as quickly and quietly as I could, looking around, but this area was too far for anyone else to see what was going on. I heard Roman telling Beaumont to go ahead, but that he'd be blamed for killing the future Iksen, and when I looked back, Beaumont disengaged the weapon. Beaumont warned Roman that he was being watched, before he walked away.

I slid back around one of the stone arches, my heart beating wildly. Roman had been so brave, so reckless with the SEU guard – no, Trag. My clasped my hands and tried to calm down, but Beaumont's words kept repeating in my mind. He wanted to kill Emery, as a message, for justice? He was Atrian, and had removed his markings, part of an army of Trags lying in wait to do what? Make attacks on humans?

When Roman walked away, I asked Byron if he knew Beaumont from the ship or if any of the elders knew about the Trags.

"Think about it, it makes perfect sense. Infiltrate the Sector Enforcement Unit, and you can forget to scan a wrist band or two," Byron stated.

"But only the seven that attend school have them, right?" I asked.

"Or not," Byron stated. He pulled me back further into the shadows. "Think about it. We found out how to bleach our markings so that they are unnoticeable. How hard do you think it would be for someone in the Sector to figure it out as well?"

"But we only did that to be able to have jobs – to-to make a living," I pointed out.

"And for me to be able to keep an eye on you," he said. "We sent seven of us to university after fabricating transcripts, and they are in turn working in various space organizations, the auto industry and in research facilities developing the fuel and materials we need, so we sent another ten to get their degrees."

"So we can leave this planet someday," I hissed, hoping no one could hear us arguing.

"I will try to figure out what Beaumont knows and who he's with," he said.

"You're going to expose yourself?" I couldn't believe what he was suggesting.

"Meheka and Jerdon need to know what's going on," he said, "Now go home, Maureen. It's obviously not safe for you out here."

"No," I said defiantly. "I'll find Loraine, Justin and Jason. We'll stick together." He glared at me, but I knew that I wasn't in danger yet. "They, whoever they are, don't know about us."

"He will the moment I expose myself."

Oh, this is a mess.

"I have too. It's the only way," Byron insisted.

"You haven't even asked permission of the Hwatab, and you're going to expose all of us!"

"Only my family," he stated. "And you're an Iksen, technically. Besides, there are only three of us – me, Sephen and Jules – and Jules is too young to be of any concern." He started to back away. "Go home, Maureen. Tell Meheka and Jerdon what you've seen, and tell Sephen that he's going to have to join me in this."

~~~~~o~~~~~

Saturday I attended the football game. I wondered where Byron and Sephen were and if they were all right. I had hoped that the seven would have been allowed to attend, but none of them came. By half time, I was able to forget about the Traggs, and Byron and Sephen joining them, and about the people from my our extended family who were trying to create the means to help us leave Earth for a planet we could call our own.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Sunday evening, the Meheka, the Dævas Iksen and acting wysedia – the head of our Hwatab, and Jerdon, the Cæveh Iksen, summoned Ihmen and me to a meeting at Meheka's home. Mason, one of the Cæveh (a tribe of Itrejivil who had banded with the Sævad tribe during the great war and remained a part of us for four hundred years) gave a report on what Byron and Sephen had found out from Beaumont. Castor, Roman's uncle, professed that he wanted to take over where Roman's father left off, but Roman, concerned about the animosity between his uncle and his father rejects his uncle's bid to become the new Atrian leader and asserts his birthright, taking on the role himself. We suspected that Castor wanted to be the Irejivil Iksen, Abour Atedi – father of all Atrians – and always had. And worse, Ian said that tensions in the Sector were making some feel that war, again, was eminent. I have no idea how my elders learned of this news, nothing had been said at school, and I thought we had no ties to the Sector.

According to what we knew, Roman had yielded the Atrian leadership to Castor, but rumors were that Roman didn't trust his uncle and would not hesitate to have him deposed. I remember that Edlund, Veda, Jasper, Castor and Uhstra had been the people who had been stirring up trouble on the ship, causing dissension and spreading a conspiracy that Nox was not going to find a suitable planet for us to colonize.

None of this sounded good and I feared for what it meant.


	3. Chapter 3

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 3 ("Our Toil Shall Strive To Mend")

Monday, as my cousins and I entered the corridor where our lockers were, I saw Teri putting the glow bracelet from little girl at the carnival in her locker. Who knew she had a soft side after all? However, when she turned her head and saw me – well, us – her smile faded into her usual look of disdain. Lynne, who was standing next to her, at least watched me with mild curiosity and nodded once when I made a small wave with him hand. Maybe if I tried talking to her at some point she might be receptive to being friendly. But she was always with either Teri, Durren or Corben, (mostly Durren) and she seemed shy, always quiet and didn't like to speak up in class. And Durren and Corben were not a good option either, they've never spoken to me.

So far the best hope I had at finding out if there were any Tgorasads in the Sector was to get on good terms with Drake or Sophia. Between those two, I'd try Sophia first; she was my best bet. She wanted to make friends and was very personable. Besides, I still got flutters in my stomach around Drake. I smiled, remembering our time together on the carnival rides and how he leaned over me at Mammoth Rock.

As we approached my locker, I saw Roman shake his head and walk away from Emery, and she looked crestfallen. I had to give it to the girl, she was persistent. But then Roman always seemed to be avoiding friendships with humans, especially with Emery. He'd have been the best choice for asking for information, being Nox's son and the heir apparent to Iksen of the Itrejivil and he'd know for certain how many survived from each tribe and could possibly give me a list of names of the survivors. But asking him was out of the question, not unless I could develop a friendship first and form a mutual trust. Too bad neither Justin nor Jason would make any attempt at talking to him. It wouldn't look suspicious if they were interested in befriending him, but I couldn't convince them to do so.

I saw Drake leaning against a locker talking to Durren. I smiled at him, but he didn't smile back. Instead his gaze swept past me. I stopped, making Jason step around me. But Drake's gaze didn't follow Jason. Confused, I turned and saw Erik, Grayson and Brock coming to class. Were those three still giving the Atrians trouble? I stood by the door as if waiting for Loraine to show up, watching them. As Erik and Brock passed Drake and Durren, Drake turned his head, his eyes getting hard. Something had happened, although I had no idea what. The thing was, Erik didn't make any snide comment to the Atrians like he normally did.

"C'mon, we'll be late," Loraine said, drawing me with her into the classroom.

After the pledge and morning announcement by the principle, Miss Garcia announced that we'd be reading S.E. Hinton's, _The Outsiders_, a story about two rival groups, the Greasers and the Socs (apparently short for Socials or Society maybe), who are at odds with each other due to their socioeconomic status. "Even though this book is normally banned from the school list and is not kept in our library, I thought it pertinent in the fact that the book deals with bigotry, threats and violence. However, understand that I do not in any way condone violence of any kind, foul language, nor do I advocate the use of cigarettes or alcohol by minors. You'll be comparing the book to _A Matter of Honor_ by Jon Saitou and _Nothing Gold Can Stay_ by Robert Frost."

I wondered how the Atrians would even get a copy of the book since they were not allowed i-Tablets or Kindle readers. I looked across the room and saw Drake reading back _The Outsiders_. Okay, so Miss Garcia must have given it to him – them, the seven Atrians.

"Anyone recognize the theme here" Brock said snidely.

"Yeah, you humans are prejudiced," Teri stated.

Miss Garcia silenced any further argument and continued her lecture.

At the bell I put my things away and took out my phone, searching the internet for a downloadable e-version of _A Matter of Honor_, but finding it, since the book was not on the approved reading list was proving difficult. I had finally managed to locate a copy of the book through Amazon, for twenty-nine dollars used, when I felt someone lean over my shoulder.

Faking a deeper than normal voice, I heard Byron say, "Playing a game?"

"No, buying a book," I said. "Any news?"

"Yes." He reached out and touched his phone to mine. The download took a while, which meant it was a large file. "Let the grandparents know I won't be there for dinner," he said softly, grandparents being our code word for Iksen around humans. He bumped a kiss on the side of my head. "Sephen and I have a meeting to go to."

I turned. "Wha—" but he was already walking away.

I entered chem, looking at the information he'd collected on the Trags he had downloaded into my phone. It was a convoluted mess. Names and places, sure, but there were maps, too, and I was so busy trying to figure out where the house was and who was there when I nearly tripped over Drake's boots.

"Watch where you're going," he said.

"Oh, sorry. A bit distracted," I apologized, pocketing my phone.

"We'll if you weren't playing your video games…" he started to say, but I shook my head.

"I don't play video games," I said as I sat down.

He leaned forward in his desk, as far as he could toward me. "Do you have a copy of the poem we have to read?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'll make you a copy… I can go to the library at lunch."

"All right, lunch," he said and sat back.

During break, I checked Miss Garcia's facebook page and found a copy of _A Matter of Honor_ and the poem, _Nothing Gold Can Stay_, and downloaded them both. Heck, twenty-nine dollars is a lot of money for a used book. However, the book would be 413 pages and the poem three. I didn't know if the library would allow me to run off 416 pages though, even double sided that would be 218. I changed the format of the book so that I could print two pages on each side of the paper, double-sided, hoping it would still be legible. That would be more reasonable.

After history, I left quickly and hurried to the library. I had my sandwich and green drink in my bag, so I could make the copies while slyly drinking the green drink. I had finished downloading the copy of the book when I felt a hand on my shoulder and nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Hey, it's just me," Drake said.

"I didn't expect you…" I said and blushed. "I formatted a copy of _A Matter of Honor_ —"

"Miss Garcia gave us copies of the book. I just need the poem," he said, shaking his head and laughing softly.

I nodded and turned around facing the machine. "Okay," I said deleting the book and uploading the poem. I hit enter and stood back, bumping into Drake. I turned my head. "Sorry."

"You like bumping in to me?" he asked, not moving.

It was like being at the rock all over. "I promise not to make it a habit," I said.

"I didn't say I minded," he said as the machine finished the seven copies I'd requested. I pulled them out and handed them to him. "Here you go. One for each of you."

"Thank you," he said and kissed my cheek.

I stared up at him in astonishment. He'd kissed me.

"Sorry," he said, straightening up.

"No, I-I don't mind," I replied. Not a cool as I'd like, but at least I wasn't stammering like an idiot. Why did this guy make me feel so off-footed?

"Well, then okay," he said and leaned in, his hand cupping my face, and he kissed me. On the lips. A real kiss.

His lips were warm and soft, teasingly light. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment, and he ended the kiss. I opened my eyes, looking up at him. My first real kiss, and I'd kissed Drake!

He smiled and nodded before he turned and walked away.

I, at a loss for intelligent thought, stood there watching him walk away like an idiot.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Tuesday, I saw Emery with a very pretty Asian with long dark hair.

The seven walked by, Drake in front. At least he smiled at me, but Roman completely ignored Emery and walked on by as if they hardly knew each other.

Gloria Garcia announced that the tenth anniversary of the Atrians' arrival, Arrival Day, our class would be going to a commemoration ceremony held at the base of the Atrian ship and would be permitted to spend some time inside the Sector to see what it's like to be an Atrian for a day. It would be the first time humans will have access to the Sector. I was so excited. But I was shocked to hear Drake say, "The humans imprison us, run our lives, and now you want to come see our homes like it's a zoo?"

"Isn't it?" Erik taunted. "I suppose there are sighs, 'Don't feed the animals'."

"Careful, you'll get your head ripped off," Brock replied. "It ain't a petting zoo."

"Pet this," Teri said, holding up two fingers, datapyg,a flip-off to the Itrejivil going back to our antiquity.

"Teri, that's enough," Miss Garcia said and admonished Brock for his comment.

At the end of class, Emery walked up to Miss Garcia and said that everyone had heard about arrival day stories from the human side and she thought it would be good to asked some of the Atrians their stories, and she wanted to interview them. Miss Garcia approved her filming interviews inside the Sector. Roman objected out of concerns for Emery's welfare, but Miss Garcia insisted that there would be enough security for everyone's safety.

In the corridor, people were tying white ribbons on their wrists. I overheard Drake commenting how pretty Grayson looked as Taylor tied one on his wrist. Taylor turned, incensed, castigating him and calling him insensitive. "Did you know that Grayson's brother was killed, by an Atrian?"

"You lost a brother?" Drake asked.

"Yeah," Grayson said, remorsefully. "He was in the National Guard."

"I lost half my tribe," Drake said. "Those who survived the crash were gunned down by your guards, but you don't see me wrapping myself in ribbon like a birthday present, do you?"

I turned and walked away, heading for chemistry. Half his tribe. I knew how he felt.

In chem, even though people were still buzzing about Miss Garcia's class going, I knew that Drake wasn't happy about us going to the Sector. "I just want to see how you live, meet some of our – your people," I said, almost blowing it.

"Yeah, like a freak show," he mumbled, adjusting the flame on the Bunsen burner.

"It's not like that," I implored, surprised by his attitude. I suppose if I'd lived how he did I might feel the same, but these are my people and I want to know how they are. "Okay yes, I want to see your homes, see how you live and even maybe taste your food," I said and nudged him.

"You wouldn't like our food," he murmured under his breath.

"Little do you know," I said. "Actually, now you're here, don't you eat human food?"

He just grunted and opened his book, so I turned on my i-Tablet.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I was completely excited about going to the Sector. But since I'm only 17, and considered to be a minor still, I have to have a permission slip signed by my guardian, Me-me or Nanina, but neither like the idea of me going to the Sector.

"So, let me get this straight, instead of keeping this a family matter – you've asked the Hwatab to convene to discuss whether I should be allowed to go or not? The whole Hwatab – not just our Sævad Iksen?"

"Yes, all four tribes – the Seconds will be, too. This matter involves all of us, child," Nanina said, and I hate it when she calls me child. On one hand she expects me to act my age and to make mature and adult decisions, then she turns around and calls me child when she disapproves of my decisions. I suppose that's what you expect from someone who used to change your diapers and still packs your lunch every day for school.

"You are not just a child of mine, you are Iksen of the Tgorasad and Iksen of our people, and there is more at stake than you realize. You're asking to take a field trip into the Sector. You could be recognized," Me-ma said calmly, a tactic I know she does to keep Nanina and I from raising our voices. The calmer she is, the less likely Nanina will get riled up, so I'm expected to maintain my cool as well.

"The last anyone saw me I was six – shy a moon from seven! That was ten years ago," I argued. So much for keeping my cool. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Calm. I have to be calm and rational to be taken seriously. "I have faith that if I'm recognized by my people in the Sector they will understand the position I'm in. We already know that there are Itrejivil from the Sector who have had their markings removed. Beaumont worked as a SEU guard. If he moved about freely and was not ousted, there is a very good chance I won't be. I mean, someone had to have know him from the ship, right? It wasn't that big of a ship."

"There were over five thousand on board, not counting children born in route," Nanina pointed out. "That's a lot of people. It would be difficult to know everybody."

"5,689 people and crew, not counting the children born onboard ship," I said with a tilt and nod of my head. "And someone, in some sector, would have known him; someone would have worked with him or ate meals with him or passed him every day in the corridors. And don't forget, he said there were others, not just him – an army of Itejivil in hiding waiting to be activated."

Later, when I entered the large dining room of Meheka's home, the current wysedia of the Hwatab – head of the Hwatab table until I assume my position, I was surprised at the number of people present. It wasn't just a Hwatab meeting to decide if I should go – some of the elders were there as well. The table sat twelve, but chairs were set along the wall as well, doubling the number of people. I was to sit in the middle of the table, facing everyone. Meheka and Ihmen sat as Dævas Iksen at the wysedia position and interim Iksen, Jerdon of course, being the Cæveh Iksen, sat in the chairs next to me with Ardon, a Cæveh adult who sometimes sits as a Second elder. Great. Both Sephen and Ian Gordon represented the Zæsak, and Patrik, sat their right, the acting interim Sævad Iksen for formal meetings, with his wife Catrice as his Second. At least she was smiling, and she winked at me, a clear indication that she and Patrik had discussed this and would back my decision. Two out of eight. Great.

Me-ma and Daniel Stone, my father and me-ma's husband sat in the chairs facing me, with the other elders. Naturally, after I presented my desire to attend the Arrival Day events, stating my reasoning and reassurances that I knew the risks. The same arguments Nanina and Me-ma had made were brought up by the other adults, only this time when I replied to the concerns I was far more rational and calm and I was being taken seriously. Gotta love Me-ma, she's usually right.

"If I don't, if you won't sign the permission slip, Gloria Garcia will ask why? I'm friendly with the Atrians, I have befriended Sophia, and Drake – as you know," I added quickly, cutting off one of the Zæsak elders, Deon, who lifted his hand and opened his mouth when I said Drake's name. "Won't it look bad, even suspicious if I don't go? And I'm ubludnak," I reminded them, running a finger along the side of my neck and face, "I look human."

"And what if you're recognized?" Deon asked.

"Then I will have to hope that they realize not only who I am, but that I'm a survivor living on the outside. Hiding. Hiding in plain sight. I may be asked questions – who else survived. I may have the opportunity to see if any of your loved ones are trapped in the Sector. I know to be discrete, and you've taught me to cautious. But I have an opportunity to find answers that I know you want as much as I do."

In the end they agreed to let me go.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I got to sit with Julia on the bus, since Emery and Grayson are talking about their video project. I knew that the video was supposed to be of Atrians telling their Arrival Day stories. I'd like to share mine, but couldn't. Not that it's a good story. And even though Julia was a little distracted, we had a lively talk about what we expected the Sector to be like.

The protesters were banging on the gates as we walked out of the bus and into the Sector gates, and now I know how the seven felt arriving at school every day. The guards even made us all turn in our cell phones and any electronic devises we had with us. Well, except for Emery, she got to keep her recorder.

I saw Sophia and Roman when we walked in, and Drake, but neither Roman nor Drake seemed happy to see us. I saw a tick in Drake's jaw when I waved discreetly at him, and he looked past me as if he didn't see me. Oh, well.

We followed Castor (a surprise considering he wasn't an Iksen, was he?) and Gloria Garcia as Castor showed us around, pointing out the general areas. (Maybe he was appointed to the role.) I carefully kept my distance from Castor, so as not to attract his attention. We were put in groups of two, and since Emery was paired with Grayson so they could film the Sector, Julia and I were paired up. I like her, but she seemed so apprehensive.

Most Atrians watched us with hostile stares, obviously unhappy with the intrusion of humans in their home. It had been the same at the carnival, only humans glaring at the seven as they walked around. It was an eerie feeling, the animosity. I don't know how the seven handled it every day.

The market area is not as bad as I'd feared. The produce was good quality, the same as in our market, even if a good deal of the fruit and vegetables were odd shaped or misshaped,it was abundant and there was a wide variety.

There were children playing in a broken hydrant, their markings glowing bright blue as they laughed and splashed, but I had to be careful to avoid the water.

Julia stopped to look at some knits, buying a scarf. I saw her and Roman talking, but she looked worried. Emery asked Roman and Sophia if she could interview them, maybe film them in their pod, but Roman flatly refused.

I saw Drake telling some of our classmates about Zabvour, a herb that would make you high, like cannabis, but I knew that if you inhaled too much it would knock you on your butt. I hoped no one bought any; it's really not a safe herb for humans.

Beaumont pulled Drake aside, "You can't sell drugs to humans," but Drake shook him off.

I was shocked to hear Drake turn to Grayson and say, "One day we're not going to take it anymore and you'll be sorry," into Grayson's camera. Beaumont grabbed his arm again and led him away.

But as Julia and I perused through a table of trinkets, I noticed that there were tiny glowing blue streaks on Julia's wrist. I slyly watched her more carefully, and sure enough, she had glowing ciper 'veins' on her wrists. It was vmemogh, ciper fire, a reaction to an overdose of ciper. Why would she have been cured with ciper – she's human! But the side effects were unmistakable.

That would explain why she was wearing a knitted scarf when everyone else, me included, was in T-shirts and sleeveless tops.

I wanted to check her more carefully, but as far as I could tell they were only starting to appear on her wrist and I suspect her chest; she had time.

I gave her space when she talked to Roman again. It's possible that he knew, and if so, he could get her vire. If he didn't, I'll have to find a way to have her eat some, and fast. No one can know about ciper and how to use it – but if Julia did have ciper fire, someone had used activated ciper on her to cure her, then she'd already know. It's a huge risk – asking.

I wanted to find Loraine and talk to her. I think better talking things out to her.

Julia and I met up with Grayson and Emery in the local Sector equivalent of a restaurant, and he showed me the interview with Sophia, and Roman's admonishment. Sophia had been excited to show everyone around her pod, and her remarks about seeing the city lights was sweet, but I hoped he would edit off Roman's bit.

The juices we had were really good, but Julia wanted a soda. "Atrians can't drink soda – the caffeine – it will kill them," I said and then hoped that they already knew that, but no one commented.

Back out in the market, I was looking at some really nice metal work: earrings, pins and bracelets. I picked up one made to look like a flower vine. It was pretty. "You've the look of your mother, Nerheen."

I looked up at the woman in shock. "You know me?" I asked and quickly glanced around, hoping no one heard her.

"I know better than that, child," the woman said quietly. "I knew your mother; she was my Iksen. You look so much like her."

I smiled shyly. I don't remember my mother, I've only seen images of her, and she had been beautiful. "Are there others, here – of our tribe?"

She nodded, and I feel a sense of relief. "Yes, child," she said. "There are a few Tgorasad here; we survived."

"How many are there?" I glanced quickly to make sure we are not being overheard. "are there any Dævas, Cæveh or Zæsak?"

"Yes, but we mustn't speak here," she said.

"Here, let me buy this one," I offered, holding up the pin.

But the woman said no. "I'll make one especially. He can give it to you when I'm done," the woman said as Drake approached me.

"Souvenirs?" he sneered.

"They are amazing, and I like them, so why not?" I picked up a bracelet of intertwining vines and small blue stones, the color of Drake's eyes. "I want this one." I pointed to necklace of the same stone. "And that one."

Drake looked away as if not believing that I'd want the woman's trinkets, but they really are pretty, and I don't know what metal they are made of – bronzy, but with a warm golden tone.

As the woman put the necklace on me she leaned in close and whispered, "I'll only tell those of our tribes. They will be glad to know our Iksen lives," so no one could hear her.

I smiled. "Thank you," I said and offered her fifty dollars. She took only a twenty, but I pressed the others in her hand. "For the bracelet and for the pin you promised me. If I owe you more, I'll give it to Drake, and he can give it to you?"

The woman nodded.

Drake took my arm, saying, "Enough," and pulled me away. "Having fun?"

"What's your problem?" I asked as he pulled me along with him.

"What do you think – we don't need your charity," he growled out.

"Charity? I paid her a fair price," I exclaimed as I tried to pull my arm free of his grasp, but he tightened his fingers.

"She was happy with the twenty." He pulled me toward some steps.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"You wanted to see my pod," Drake said.

I stopped struggling and followed along with him.

Inside his pod was not at all what I'd expected. He stood there watching me as I walked around. It was clean and even though a tight space, it felt homey. It was obviously living room, kitchen and dining areas. It was maybe 8' wide but about 30' long, I thought. There was a doorway at the end; another room, maybe? I peered through one of the openings on the side and realized there was another pod container adjacent to this one, attached to it with a rough welding job that had been sanded smooth. And although the space I was looking at was shorter, eight foot by eleven possibly, it was obviously a bedroom. So that second pod was what – divided into rooms, perhaps. How many?

"My room," he said, leaning close enough to feel his breath on my hair.

I stepped back and collided with him. I turned, and he moved forward, making me back up a bit. He put a hand on my stomach and pushed me against a wall. I looked up at him, suddenly feeling nervous.

He fingered the necklace, touching the stone. "This is from Atria. When warm, it will glow blue like our marks; some say it glows in moonlight."

"The metal she used, is it from Atria, also?" I asked softly, breathless at being so close to him, and I felt a fuzzy warmth in my stomach and head.

"Yes," he replied.

I smiled. I have Atrian metal and an Atrian stone. I'll treasure them, always.

He looked at me, his eyes sweeping my face. He leaned forward. "I did say I was going to pin you to my wall."

"You've a good memory," I said. He was so close I could smell his natural scent. It was intoxicating.

"I have an excellent memory," he said, watching me intently. So intently my breath hitched.

Drake angled his head, and I looked at him, wondering what he was thinking. Then he moved closer still, closing what little gap there was between us, and brushed my lips with his. I exhaled as he pulled back and I opened my eyes to see him staring at me. "Oh, hell," he said and kissed me again, this time with more pressure. I kissed him back, and his hand cupped my lower back, pulling my lower body toward him with my shoulders still pressed firmly to his wall as his kisses became more… I dunno – more. Drake's tongue touched my lips in a soft caress. I tried to do the same, to mimic what he did, but he huffed a laugh, and his tongue entered my mouth. My head was swimming. He's the first boy I've ever kissed, and I felt like my legs were turning to goo or like I could soar. I wrapped my arms around him, and he pulled me tightly against him. Oh gods, if this is kissing… Now I know what all the fuss is about.

My back hit the wall again as his hand slid down to my hip. I slowly slid my hands down his back, amazed at how good he felt under my hands.

Suddenly he pulled away, leaning on his hand on the wall by my side. "I can't – we can't do this," he said and looked down at the floor between us.

"What?" I'm surprised that I sounded so breathless.

He pushed off the wall and took a step away from me. "I have to take you back to the market area," he said. "This – it was reckless. I shouldn't have you here."

Are you kidding me? As I followed him out, I wondered what had happened. It had been amazing, and I could still feel my lips tingle from kissing him. Didn't he like kissing me? Was that it? Or was he worried about being alone with me? "Thank you for showing me your home," I said as he locked his door.

He cuffed a laugh. "Yeah," he said. "Look, forget it. It's nothing. I shouldn't have taken you away from your guard."

"So we don't get in trouble with the SEU," I said with a sigh. "I." I stopped and he turned to look at me. "Thank you for this."

"Sure," was all he said as he turned to led me away.

Once he had me back in the market, he left, and I immediately felt bereft of his presence.

On the buss, Julia looked worried. We were told to take the same seats, and Gloria walked down the aisle one last time making sure we were all present and accounted for.

"What's wrong?" I asked Julia.

"Nothing," she said, but her smile was false and the look of concern never left her eyes.

"It's the blue on your wrist, isn't it?" I whispered. "You tried an Atrian herb?" I hoped that if she'd confided in me, so I might in her. I knew and she needed vire and soon. My Dævas cultivators grew some. There were lots of Atrian herbs my Dævas grew: they had been agricultural tribe of the north and they were cultivators and healers of the Tgorasad, but they were not as mystical as the Iwabas of the south are. However, no one knew the healing plants and herbs better then the Dævas.

Julia pulled her sleeve down. "It's a weird kind of paint, that's all. I must have rubbed my wrist on someone's art in the Sector."

Crap. If she won't tell me, I can't help her. It's risky asking – we've just met. I looked out the window. I hoped Roman could get vire, if not… We had it, of course, but how could I pass it to Julia without her knowing? Give her a green drink? But it had to be eaten alone… and preferably on an empty stomach. Maybe Loraine had some in her herb kit or Justin… I phoned Ihmen asking for help.

~~~~~o~~~~~

At the commemoration site, as people took their seats on the stage and Castor greeted the other humans, I saw Roman approach Julia over by the fence. He handed her something, placing it on her palm and closing her fingers around it. I hoped it was vire. I saw Drake and Teri at the other end of the stands, and he had his arm around her, hugging her. I tried not to stare and looked away, feeling a pang of regret and jealously. But then I saw Beaumont walk up the steps of the stands. He stopped right beside Drake and asked, well demanded Drake go with him. I wondered what Drake had done.

"Stop staring at him," Loraine admonished me.

I ignored her comment. "What do you think he did?"

"What are you talking about?" Justin asked.

"Beaumont, the guard I told you about, the one that is," I said "like us" in Sondiv softly. "He's taking Drake away."

"It doesn't concern us, then does it?" Justin stated.

Drake jumped down the last step, swing his arms as if nothing was amiss, but the look on Roman's face as he entered the stands told me that he wondered what was up, too.

Gloria Garcia began her welcome address, first in Sondiv and then in English, and everyone turned her attention to her. She ended by saying, "I could tell you about the success of our integration program, but I'll let you see the results for yourself."

The video began playing Sophia's interview, but then the video was interrupted by a Red Hawk grand patriarch, not the footage that Emery and Grayson had shown us in the Sector pub. There was Drake threatening to break down these walls, and Teri hissing at the camera… the conspiracy theorists' rantings…

Miss Garcia and two other men left the stage to stop the video.

Then Roman walked up onto the stage and began talking. "I am Roman, I'm the son of Nox, the late leader of the Atrians," he said and I listened to his opening remarks. He said that there was some truth to what as in the video, that conditions were difficult and that animosity and prejudices were hard to overcome. That rather than learning from each other, we go to great lengths to hide the truth.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a car in the parking area begin to glow – ciper blue – and I quickly left my seat as unobtrusively as I could. I walked as hurriedly as I could to the gate without rousing suspicions of the guard, and ran for the parking lot.

I was sure that Julia had consumed the vire, but her body was all afire with vmemogh, and I had no idea how much vire she'd eaten. "Here," I said, forcing a water bottle with pureed vire in it to her lips. "Drink."

She drank some, still feeling the pain of the burning. "More," I urged her. "Drink as much of this as you can." Tears streaked down her face, tears of both blood and vmemogh. She'd waited too long to eat the vire – or Roman hadn't given her enough – or I was too late, and she was going to die. If they did an autopsy on her, they'd find activated ciper in her veins, possibly in her DNA. "Drink," I insisted.

Somehow, even with her convulsing and crying in pain, I managed to get all the watered down vire puree down her throat. I prayed that she would not throw up or die. I wiped her tears, staining the sleeve of my sweater red and blue. Me-ma would kill me for it, but all I could think about was this girl, who I'd only known a short while and for some reason cared about.

Slowly the convulsions stopped, and she began to breathe easier as her veins return to normal. I had no idea what this would have done to her physiology, but for now, I knew she was all right. I left her and hurried back to the commemoration site. Loraine, Justin, Jason and Byron all ambushed me. "I'll tell you later, not here," I said softly. "Needless to say, I will have to go see the other," I paused as people walked by a little too close for comfort. "the grandparents. They will want to know what happened here today." I looked at Byron. "Can you drive us there now? It's fairly urgent, and I really need to speak to Meheka and Ihmen."

"Yeah, sure," he said.

I turned and saw Julia coming from the parking area. "Wait, I said and put a hand on Byron's arm. But Julia walked right by me and up to Roman. Gone was the long sleeve shirt and bulky scarf. She showed Roman her arms and hugged him. I couldn't believe it. I waited until Julia walked by us again, watching her intently for any sign. She waved at me in a friendly fashion, and hurried over to Emery, who had an odd look on her face.

"Can we go now?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," I said slowly, wondering why Julia behaved as if I wasn't there, not really. I'd divulged my secret to her, and she acted as if… she didn't remember what I did. She acted like she had that morning. Completely normal.

That night after I met with the Iksen, I saw a clip of Roman's speech on TV. "That video was supposed to be of Atrian's sharing their arrival day stories. I'd like to share mine. That Red Hawk said that humans don't want us here. Well, I know that's not true, because on Arrival Day, I met a human girl who saved my life. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for her. But if I met her today, we couldn't walk down the street together without causing harm to one or both of us. That's the reality of our world. The integration program isn't perfect, but it has shown me that there are more humans out there like that girl than there are Red Hawks. And that gives me hope. Hope that someday, we will be able to come together."


	4. Chapter 4

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 4 ("And Left No Friendly Drop")

Byron was keeping his distance from us lately. I told him this was a mistake, but he insisted, "Maureen, I can't keep driving you and the others to school anymore. The Trags expect my complete loyalty, and they are checking my family ties, knowing that anyone I'm related to is an Atrian – another possible recruit. I can't come by the apartment anymore. It's too risky. This is the last time I can do this."

"I know that you've been slipping though the tunnels to see Ian Gordon and Deon Quarry, and rumor has it that three of the Zæsak have been training you and Sephen in combat." Deon Quarry was one of the marked Zæsak elders and his sons were very skill fighters, especially in hand-to-hand combat and knife fighting. I could only imagine what they were teaching him.

"It's for my own good – and I'm doing this for you – for all of us," he argued. "We have to know what the Trags are up to."

"I know, but you're ignoring me at school. How are you going to pass information to me if you won't talk to me?" I sounded whiny, that wouldn't work.

"You lived four houses down from me in the development – now even when I'm home, you don't come around. Fine, you're training. I get that. But you used to play with the kids from families that live in the houses on both sides of you – and they are asking why you don't play with them anymore," I pointed out. We built the development quietly a year after the hunts stopped, and each home had basements, 2 levels built identical to the ground floor house above, where other Tgorasad lived, those markings made it impossible for them to be seen by humans. The whole housing development had been built that way. What looked like 48 two-story houses on two neighboring cul-de-sacs was actually hiding two more floors with three bedrooms and two bathroom each, basically like having an additional 96 apartment flats beneath the main houses, thanks to the skills of our Sævad miners and Cæveh builders and engineers. 144 homes in total, 432 bedroom/living units underground. We had numbered only 297 survivors then, but now, our numbers had increased: young children and a few stragglers sent to us by some the Swamad or Tgorasad Itrejivil still living in the old bayou hideout, stragglers wanting an easier life. Not that living here was any easier than the Eljida or Ukænos bio-enclosures.

And I and the other Iksen were responsible for their – everyone's safety and welfare. There was a lot to consider nowadays.

"I can't be seen playing roopta-go and cerse-da-nah with the kids! What if I'm followed?" he asked adamantly.

"So play in the pools and grass park areas between the houses," I suggested. The two rows of houses on the cul-de-sacs that backed each other didn't have fences between their yards, but there were a lot of trees, huge gazebos, pool houses, sunrooms and large patio awnings so that it wouldn't be noticed and considered as odd from human satellites or a Google Earth search. "What about Helene and Meria? They miss you."

"And every time I go to their houses, I put them at risk," he stated.

"Helene and Meria raised you like their own son!" They were Sævad sisters and, although they were not ubludnak, they didn't have markings on their cheekbones, only light brown spotting along their hairline and the sides of their neck and down the back of their shoulder blades and sides, like Me-ma, Nanina and me. With makeup and the right haircut and conservative clothes, they passed as human. They'd started an eBay business, scouting flea markets and yard sales for bargains and antiques, and selling them online. They were making really good money at it. The people living under their house helped with the fact checking and research, setting the reserve or opening bid prices on the items. And both Helene's and Meria's husbands were Zæsak and had undergone the bleaching of their markings so they could help with the purchases at flea markets and estate and yard sales. It was quite a business. I was truly impressed.

They weren't the only ones with in home businesses; others had studios or small shops, but most of our artists and craftsmen sold their things online, mail order or in uptown boutiques in Baton Rouge and or New Orleans – crocheting, knitting, sewing, jewelry, pottery, glass, metal and, well, lots of things.

"And now Helene and Meria have their own children to consider," Byron pointed out. "I have to be more careful now. I'm being watched."

"And any change in your routine would be noted and reported to Vega. Not taking us to school or sitting with us at lunch and ignoring us in the corridor is a change in your routine…" I gave up. "Fine. I'll get a license and drive. I already have my permit. I'm sure the elders will approve a car."

"Not a chance. You're only 16, and can't have a license yet," he pointed out. "And you don't' have a birth certificate."

I smiled. "I'm 17. Besides, I have my falsified papers – I needed them to enroll in school. I can get an Intermediate driver's license," I said. Oh it's good to be Iksen, I'll insist. "Then I can legally drive between five in the morning to eleven at night, which will have me home by the elder's curfew."

"We're getting driver's licenses?" Loraine asked as she and the guys joined us in the foyer of the apartment building, bags in hand, Justin still putting his homework and green drink cup in his. He always reviews his work at breakfast, running to the printer after making his final check.

"We'll see," Byron said as Jason, Justin and Loraine all squeezed in the back of his car.

"Maybe I should drive," I suggested. "I'll need the practice."

"No," Byron snapped, going to the driver's side.

In the parking lot at school, as we were getting out of the car, I saw Drake exiting the SEU bus. I was excited to see him, especially after our time together in his pod. I pulled out my phone to take his picture, but as I did, hitting the record button instead, the SEU guard shoved him saying, "Move."

Drake turned, one hand over his fist, his arm muscles taught, and I feared he might punch the guard. But Teri intervened, and he calmed down. No wonder he hated the SEU. I lowered my hand. How dare that guard shove Drake.

"You mean Beaumont? He was a spy, my mother had no choice," I heard Teri say as they walked by us.

"All I'm saying is that I joined the Trags because I want freedom for our people," Drake said and stopped.

I froze. What? He's Trag?

"We need to tear down the walls of the Sector," he said.

I knew that was what he'd want, how he felt; but to join the Trags and not align with Roman? Or was he doing both?

"So you can find Eljida, that fairytale swamp you keep yapping about?" Teri said with her condescending attitude. "Right now we're the best link to the Trags on the outside, so fall inline. You remember what happens to Trags that disappoint my mother."

She walked off and Drake stood there. "Hi," I said as I approached. He looked at me, looked away, then said hi back. "Are you all right? I saw what the guard did; I have it on tape," I said, and his eyes hardened. "I can show it to Miss Garcia and have him reported."

"Don't," he snapped.

"They're not supposed to harass you," I said, keeping up with him.

He stopped and faced me. "Well, they do, every day. So let it go."

We started walking again. "You're not, are you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I do care about how you and your friends are treated – all of you, every Atrian. This is wrong, Drake, and it has to be reported. If I show the clip to Miss Garcia, she can make it stop. Besides, you're not the one bringing it to her attention – I would be. A regular student, an innocent bystander who happened to record the misconduct. It can't come back against you."

"And I saw it, too," Loraine said. "That's two of us." I smiled at Loraine, never prouder to be stepsister-cousins.

Drake looked at us as if he couldn't believe we'd stand up for him. He looked at Byron, walking with Jason and Justin, then looked at me. I wondered if he knew that Byron had joined the Trags.

"C'mon, let's get to class," I said.

I saw Roman show Julia something, and she stepped closer to him. Whatever it was, Roman didn't give it to her, but when he saw Emery, he pulled his bag on his shoulder and walked away. I overheard her telling Emery that she was congratulating him on his Commencement Day speech, but I knew she was lying, and judging by Emery's look, she did, too.

In biology, Miss Benton began her lecture reviewing what human's knew about Atrian biology. It was fairly rudimentary. I knew far more about our anatomy, physiology and biochemical physiology from Meheka and the Dævas elders and my science and chem tutor, David Kraft and Giles, a bio-tech engineer and Sævad medical physician at the houses.

Miss Benton brushed off Teri's remark about Atrians' being 'superior,' by calling us 'different,' and explained that "The Atrian's biological differences are due to their native environment, right down to their markings, which are bioluminescent in water. Why is that?"

I knew the answer; I even knew the biochemical and bio-physiological reason why. I knew which inherited elements caused the reaction as well as the fact that cipher, which had infused in our DNA eons ago, was only one cause. Not that I could say anything.

"Sophia?"

"To light our way," Sophia responded. Not exactly right, but an acceptable response. Many of our animals and plants on Atria fluoresced, especially at night and in moonlight. The bioluminescence helped us blend in, and helped us see in the fog and rain – but it needed dampness – water to do so. It rained a lot on Atria in many places and the fog was always very dense on the coasts and lagoons. Sometimes the clouds would come low enough to cover the mountain peaks, and be heavy and wet enough to make us glow – as well as the animals. Our ability to see more spectrums of light than humans gave us protection from predators in low visibility, and our markings helped us hide in the florescent foliage.

That's why the Vwasak and Zæsak had heavier markings, they were hunters and warriors, and the Swamad and Iwabas, the agricultural, cultivators and healer tribes, and the Cæveh of the highlands and the Zwahan all had abundant markings as well – it was camouflage, or for spotting or identification of one another, prey and of danger. But it's also why the Sævad didn't have prominent markings – for millions of years we lived in the mountains, above the fog, and in tunnels and caves. The low clouds usually brought heavy rain and thunderstorms to the mountains and highlands, so we went 'under,' and the low moisture – since most of the moisture was on the walls of the rock, collected in the cisterns, aqueducts and underground lakes – meant that we didn't need them as much so they'd faded. At least that's what the elders taught us in biology.

Miss Benton listed off other differences, including our allergy to cilantro and caffeine. It was surprising how much she knew. "In some ways humans and Atrians are similar; some scientists even suggest a common origin."

Zoeda looked annoyed at that comment. "And does that mean that humans and Atrians can get their intergalactic freak on?" she asked snidely, looking at Drake and Roman.

Taylor turned in her seat, facing Drake. "And how is their endurance? Are we talking marathon men or sprint and face plant?" she asked, then turned smugly back to face the front of class.

Drake looked at the object in his hand and said, "Blondie, you couldn't handle my endurance."

Teri rolled her eyes.

"You better use protection – alien crabs don't just itch," Erik said, mouthing loudly, 'they bite,' and people laughed.

And Drake shoved his chair back into Erick's forcefully, making Erik's desk move as well. "I missed you too, sweetheart," he sneered. Not that I liked Erick's comment – it was crude and rude – but Drake needed to calm down and stop taking things that jerk said personally.

Thanks to their spat, Miss Benton had us turn back to page 17, making a few people groan, to resume our study of the fascinating, gag, flatworms. The rest of the lesson was utterly boring, and I had to force myself to pay attention to the boring lecture of the phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates. Again. Thanks guys.

After we were dismissed, I bumped into Emery in the corridor and decided to try and make friends. As we were walking, Emery and I saw Sophia standing by the trophy case, staring at the swim team trophy longingly. Emery told her it was the swim team; I was surprised that Sophia didn't know about the sport teams on campus.

Sophia told us, "I've never been part of something like that; a team." But her confession, "Even in the Sector I don't have many friends," made me feel sorry for her. "I was hoping to make some on the outside, but it's not that easy, is it?"

"Friendships are tough, even for humans," Emery said, smiling at both of us. Yeah, I knew I was in – Emery thought of me as a new friend!

We talked about swimming: Sophia told us about the first time she went swimming with her father in a lagoon as a child – she'd have to have been what, three? Me, I told them about the time in the pool behind the house, laughing and splashing with my cousins. "Sephen threw me in, and I sank. But after a while, I got the hang of it, too. We had to learn the crawl and breast stroke, although I don't get the breast stroke kick right."

"No one does," Emery said and told us about going to the lake and a beach trip with her parents.

Sophia said that she hadn't been in the water since leaving Atria.

Emery got an odd look in her eyes. "C'mon, I have an idea." Not sure what she was on about, I went with them.

To the girls' locker room.

She came out of the coaches' office with a swimsuit, and I was relieved that it was only one. There was no way I could go swimming at school – my guardians, elders and Iksen were adamant that I couldn't, not that I was stupid enough to do it. I even had a medical note and my guardians had written an explicit, firm letter stating I was not to be in the school pool. No swimming. Period. Dermatitis or some rare condition Giles had found on the internet.

Sophia was curious, but put it on and followed Emery, who urged me to come along too, to the pool.

Sophia was delighted. She dove in and began swimming like a fish – well, more like a mermaid, someone remarked.

"What's Erik's record?" Taylor asked.

"4:19," someone else said, but I was watching Roman and Teri. He was not happy about his sister being in the pool.

"Four – seven seconds," Emery shouted when Sophia surfaced at the end.

She'd beat Erik's record, but I knew that she was merely swimming and not trying her best – she'd leave the other's in her wake! Around the pool, people were clapping, or talking to friends in stunned amazement. Erik didn't like her breaking his record and made a snide remark as usual. Roman almost jumped at him, but Teri stopped him.

"You should so try out for the team," Taylor said, but reactions were mixed. The swim coaches, Miss Romero and Mr. Foster, and Miss Garcia were brought down to the pool as the discussion about letting Sophia on the team became more serious. Oddly, Grayson was the one to make the most compelling argument for letting Sophia on the team.

When Sophia and I left the pool together, we ran into Roman. I stood back and let them talk. He had a point, it was risky, but the meet would be at school and that had to be safe enough. In the end, she stood up to her brother, and we walked off together. Sophia had decided to join the swim team, and Emery, Grayson and I were going to give her our full support. I had to hand it to her, she had guts. And told her so. "I think it's great. You're an amazing swimmer."

"Thanks," she said modestly.

It took a while, and Grayson was her biggest advocate, but the team finally agreed. Mostly because they finally admitted that Atrians have an underwater advantage, and because they wanted to win the league this year, but especially because everyone wanted to beat Collier High for the championship. However, even though the school, well most of us, were supporting Sophia swimming for Marshall, the next day the protestors were out in force when the Atrians arrived. I saw Roman walking with Sophia in the hall, his arm around her, and Sophia looked really upset. And wet. Why was she wet?

I stepped into their path as they approached. "What happened?" I asked.

"Nothing," Roman said as I turned to go with them.

"It's not _nothing_, you're upset. And she's wet!" I pulled out my pack of facial tissues from my bag and handed the pack to Sophia.

"The guards ambushed Roman for protecting, Sophia. That's what you get for showing off," Teri sneered as she walked by.

"Sophia, don't listen to her. I have an extra blouse in my locker," I said, touching her arm gently. "Let's get you changed and dried off. Okay?"

Sophia smiled and nodded. "I'll be all right," she told Roman. We walked off and behind us, I saw Teri smashing some kind of aerial drone. Sophia told me what happened as I opened my locker, and I was incensed, and I think my reaction actually made Sophia feel better. We went to the girls' bathroom, and I leaned on a sink as she changed in a stall. "Well, don't dwell on it – not everyone thinks that way. And after you leave Collier High's best in your wake, attitudes here will turn. Wait and see."

Sophia walked out in my aubergine top embroidered on the seams in lighter, pink-purple stitching. "Oh that looks good on you!" I exclaimed. It did; the color was great for her. "Keep it."

"What? No," she started to protest, but I insisted, "It never looked that good on me, so yes – it's yours now. Besides, don't you get tired of black and grey?"

"We have white and tan as an option," she said, looking at herself in the mirror. I could tell she liked it. She paused and looked at me. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I said lightly. It was nothing, just an old blouse.

"No, thank you for being my friend," she said earnestly.

I could have teared up at the sincerity. "I'm the lucky one that you want to be my friend." And we hugged. We hung her wet top in her locker and hurried to class, smiling at each other as we parted to take our seats.

Miss Garcia asked to the Atrians to stay after class. Drake wouldn't tell me why in chem, only that Sophia was going to smoke the humans today. I believed him – she would. I was so proud of her.

At break, I caught up to Emery and Sophia at Sophia's locker. Emery had given her a swimsuit like the ones worn by the team. But when she opened her locker, there was a doll in it dressed like her with a knife in its chest. Roman ran up and he demanded that she quit and threatened to pull Sophia out of the pool if he had to to protect her. "No, you won't," Sophia argued and stormed away. I heard Emery say, "Roman let her go, you made your point," as I hurried after Sophia.

"Sophia wait," I called out, running to catch up.

"I won't let him ruin this for me," she said.

"He won't, I promise you. He was scared – that was a threat on your life."

She stopped and turned. "I know that – don't you think I know that?"

"He loves you, he's only being protective. That's what brothers do – sometimes they go a little overboard – but it's out of love. I should know, I have more half-brothers, stepbrothers and cousins than you can count," boy that was the truth, "and I can tell you this; they overreact to stuff like that."

Sophia smiled, a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. "You have a big family?"

I nodded, sighing, "You have no idea." Over 350, all on two neighboring cul-de-sacs, whose houses were not only open to each other where the back yards joined into one long strip, but by tunnels underground, too. And we owned two apartment buildings, just for people of our tribes to live in; not that I could tell her that. Yet. "He'll come around, you'll see."

We met up again at lunch. "Do you want to sit with us?" I asked her.

Sophia looked at her brother, sitting with the other Atrians, and turned back to me. "Sure."

"Roman still giving you a hard time?" I asked as we walked to the table I usually shared with my cousins.

"Yeah," Sophia said, sitting across from me.

Loraine, Justin and Jason sat down, all wishing Sophia luck on the meet. Jason passed out the bags, leaving one in the center for Byron, not that he'd come over and eat it. "Uncle Kenton dropped them by," he explained as he set two liters of Orange Crush on the table, and cups. Gotta love men with no kids – they give you great lunches!

"Oh yum, Greek," Loraine said as we unrolled the kebab sandwiches and took out the quart sized mushy eggplant dips.

"At least we have Orange Crush instead of green drink," Justin said, helping himself to one of the liters. "What did you get?" he asked Sophia.

"Carrot rice cakes," she said and looked at her food with a grimace. "We don't get much in the way of choices."

"Here, try this," I suggested, opening up the container. "It's eggplant, bell pepper and, I dunno, carrot, I think, mushy stuff. It's good and I'm sure it will be all right for you."

"She's not supposed to eat human food," Drake said, and I looked up at him. Everyone did.

"It's not just human, it's Greek," I said and moved my bag. "Sit if you want to." I turned back to Sophia. Would he? "Here, try some. The ingredients are on the lid. I'm sure it will be all right." I eat it all the time, I wanted to tell her. I watched Sophia put some of the dip on her rice cake as I poured her a cup of the Orange Crush. Uncle Kenton obviously didn't know that Byron didn't eat with us anymore, or he couldn't count – there were seven cups. Loraine grabbed the extra bag before the boys could get it.

"Sophia," Drake warned as she took a bite. Sophia's eyes widened at the taste. She liked it!

"Don't mind him," I said, indicating Drake. "All tough guys are afraid of eggplant." I poured some Crush for myself as Drake sat down, so I gave him the cup and grabbed another one.

"I'm not afraid of eggplant," he said as Loraine passed him her container of eggplant dip. She opened Byron's lunch bag and gave one of his Gyros to Sophia. "Here. Eat this. You'll need more than eggplant and rice cakes if you're going to swim today."

Sophia put down her rice cake. "Are you sure?" she asked, unwrapping the Gyro.

I reached over and took the other, and casually handed it to Drake. "Here, try one. Unless you think I'd try and kill you. In the lunch room. In front of everyone," I said, sweeping my hand, indicating the room, "and Miss Garcia," who was standing with Miss Benton by the windows.

He gave me an odd look, which I ignored, biting into my sandwich as I watched him. I couldn't help it; I was grinning. He was sitting next to me, eating lunch with us! His leg was next to mine under the table, and I could touch it with my knee if I shifted. He didn't pull away when I did.

He smelled the sandwich and took a bite.

I waited, hoping he'd say something. "Do you like it?" I asked, touching, rubbing my knee on his leg a bit.

"Yeah, it's all right," he said. Across the table, Sophia had broken her rice cakes into pieces and let Loraine try one with some of the eggplant.

Justin passed Drake the other container of the dip.

I joined the conversation Sophia and Loraine were having as Drake tried the eggplant. I think he liked it, he gave no indication other than to help himself to more. A lot more, spreading a thick layer on his rice cake. I felt his leg bump mine, and I looked at him, but he was talking to Jason. I touched my knee to his leg as I commented on the conversation with the girls, and Drake moved his. Thinking I was annoying him, I crossed my ankles so that I wouldn't bother him anymore. A moment later I felt his leg lean on mine again. I hid my smile behind my Orange Crush.

It was the best lunch I'd had so far in this school.

After school let out, I went down to the pool with Emery before the meet, and saw Julia running away in the other direction. We hurried in and there was Sophia, on the ground, having an anaphylactic reaction. Emery and I hurried over to Sophia as Grayson started telling people to move back and give her air. One of the other players called Grayson a tatty lover, to which Drake responded, "Who are you calling tatty?"

I had cipher, but I couldn't do anything with all these people around. I had to keep my cover. I had to keep cipher a secret to protect my people; I had the thousand Atrians living outside the Sector, we believed, to consider as well as the people living within it. I was scared and felt utterly helpless, even though I had the cure in my bag.

Roman showed up and said she needed water. "I can help her but I can't do it here. Trust me," he said softly to Emery. He picked up his sister, and he and Emery carried her out of the room.

Teri demanded to know what the other team had given her and snatched the drink bottle from a girl on the Collier team. "Caffeine?"

The Collier girl said, "It's not my fault ET drank it," snidely.

"What you are saying makes me angry and fills me with rage," Teri said, removing her earrings. "There I used my words," she said and head butted the girl – hard, breaking her nose. Drake immediately punched a Collier boy.

I decided that Sophia's life was worth a little risk of using cipher in front of Roman. She was my friend. If I could find them, and if she and Roman were alone, I'd give Roman my cipher and explain later. As I slid along the wall to leave the pool area to go find Sophia, the fighting escalated. I saw Jason fighting alongside Erik, Grayson and Drake. Unity at last. Great – it took poisoning Sophia to do it?

I slipped into the hall. Now where were Roman and Emery? I didn't have far to look, Emery and Roman had taken Sophia to the locker room. Roman pulled fresh ciper from his pocket but before he could use it, Miss Benton arrived. Roman hid it and begged her to leave and let him handle it, telling her she had no idea how to help his sister, but Miss Benton refused to leave until paramedics arrive. Paramedics? That meant a hospital… No! That was not going to happen – they had no idea how to help her.

I was standing next to Miss Benton, deciding if I should use khayler, an herb that made people pass out. I know it works on humans; it's effects are like Rohypnol, the date-rape drug my elders warned the girls about, only the forgetful period starts once inhaled and lasted several minutes, enough time to get away – or to use cipher. I only had to shove it under Miss Benton's nose and squeeze the puff pod.

I heard Emery ask why Roman wasn't suing cipher, and he said he couldn't while Miss Benton (and probably me) were here. But something had to be done fast – Sophia was turning grey and growing weaker. I dug in my bag for my herb kit.

Then Emery said, "Anaphylaxis," softly, adding, "She's having an allergic reaction," louder as she moved forward.

"Are you sure?" Miss Benton asked as I pulled out the cosmetic bag of herbs, looking for khayler.

"It's happened to me enough times – I should have known," Emery said. "Do you have _epinephrine?" she asked, searching Miss Benton's bad. She pulled out an epinephrine_ auto-injector, and I watched as she administered the drug. I dropped my bag as I knelt next to Sophia, Roman doing the same.

We waited.

I held my breath, worried. What if it didn't work?

Sophia stopped breathing.

That was it, I was going to take out Miss Benton and give Sophia cipher. If I had to, I'd use my blood; I had a syringe.

Suddenly Sophia took a deep breath. And another.

She gasped as the air returned to her lungs, clutching onto Roman as he held her.

After a while, Sophia sat up, obviously doing better. The _epinephrine worked! I'd have to tell the Hwatab about this. I bent down to pick up my herb kit and realized that some of the herbs had fallen out. I quickly stuffed them in while Miss Benton checked on Sophia, but some had fallen under the bench. Roman handed me one of the small zip lock bags, and I looked at him. Oh shite. I took it. Merideh. Crap. _

_He looked at me as I stuffed it in my bag. _

_I snatched up the wougine by his knee. _

_"Here," he breathed, holding another herb out to me under the bench. _

_I took it, swallowing, wondering what he must be thinking. I looked at it as I put it in my cosmetic bag; Sempek sticks, for migraines. At least they looked like cinnamon sticks. I zipped the cosmetic bag up and shoved it into my school bag. I rose up to leave, seeing Roman watching me with a contemplative look. Crap. _

_I walked up to Sophia. "I was so scared there for a minute; I thought you'd died," I said. "Emery, I'm – how… Thank God you knew what to do."_

_"I was lucky," she replied modestly. _

_Roman put his arm around Sophia's shoulder, but as he kissed the side of her head, his eyes were on me. I looked away. _

_Stupid, stupid. He knows. Damn it. _

_But as we were leaving the locker room, Miss Garcia told us to follow her, along with the school swim team and the other Atrians. _

_I noticed that Drake had a blood on his shirt and on his face from a scratch, and he winked at me as I grabbed a towel and handed it to him. "I'd hate to see the other guy," I said. _

_He turned his head, so I looked too, as the Collier team staggered out of the pool area, soaked, a few sporting cuts, bright red blotches and bruises. "There you go," he said smugly, and I huffed a laugh. _

_"Impressive," I said in a flirtatious way. _

_"Inside, all of you," Miss Garcia ordered angrily, opening the auditorium door. For some reason Taylor and Zoeda thought they should be included as well – they hadn't been fighting – Taylor would break a nail._

_We all filed in. Drake handed me back the towel, but instead of letting go, he used it to clasp my hand, making me stop next to him. _

_"Sit," Miss Garcia said sharply, and I did, Drake sitting next to me with a smug smile on his lips._

_Icepacks were handed out, but Drake shook off the offer. _He hardly looked banged up at all. I wish I'd seen him fight, he must have been awesome. He looked at me with a smug smile, then looked at the other's sitting on my other side.

_Grayson, Erik and Durren were each handed an icepack. Erik replaced the towel he was holding on his face for the icepack as Grayson placed his on his hand. Durren held his to his temple. Grayson was sopping wet, possibly from falling into the pool. Teri scoffed at the offer of one as did Justin, although Jason didn't, he took one, but then Jason is not a fighter, he's more of an academic like I am. _

Not surprisingly, Miss Garcia announced that the team was suspended from competing. Surprisingly, Miss Garcia praised us for fighting _with_ each other, Atrians and Humans, fighting for each other, together, against the other team, and said that it showed her that the integration project was actually starting to work, that we were finally learning to work collectively.

"Wait," Sophia said as we all stood up to go. "We came here to swim. After everything that happened, can we at least have that?"

"What's the point?" Erik asked. He looked a mess, a bruise forming on his cheek and a bloody nose. "We already forfeited the meet, there is no one here to see it," he stated. He had a point.

"We're here," Grayson said, leaning back in his chair.

So the team was granted one hour.

The team raced each other, everyone else cheering them on. Zoeda didn't look pleased, but everyone else was smiling and clapping and cheering. It was great.

However, afterwards Roman grabbed my arm and pulled me aside into, of all things, a storage room where they kept the pool supplies.

"You're an Atrian," he said accusingly.

"What?" I gasped, stepping back.

He moved forward, his eyes boring into mine. "Then where did you get all those Atrian herbs?"

"My Me-ma and Nanina are into holistic herbs and vitamins," I said, hoping I was believable.

_"Merideh, wougine and Sempek sticks… they're common Atrian remedies," he said, more a question than a statement. "And you dropped this," he said, holding my_ Diphrey.

I stared at the little dried white flowers. Shite.

"So either you're an Atrian, or you're well versed in our medicines," he stated, still staring at me intently.

"Stop. Stop," I said, starting to panic. "You have no idea—"

"Don't I? What don't you think I understand?" he asked in a harsh tone as I shook my head in disbelief. "Sa-wyn Itrejivil?" he asked more smoothly but nonetheless forcefully.

Oh gods, now what? Do I – do I tell him? This wasn't how I'd played this out in my head – he'd been more receptive, not confrontational. But I nodded once, slowly

"Sa-wyn Trag?"

My eyes snapped to his. "NO!" I gasped, looking at him, astounded by the accusation. Me a Trag? "I'm not a Trag."

"But you know who they are?" he asked, no demanded, and I nodded, my thoughts in a whirl, trying to salvage this somehow. "Who are you?" he asked in Sondiv, and I realized that he'd been speaking in Sondiv – and I'd answered him. In English, but still, I'd answered.

I raised my hands up level with his chest. "Stop – Roman – stop! You've no idea what is at stake – how many I—" I lowered my hands and looked up at him beseechingly. "You and I have never really talked – you've never been friendly toward me and now you…" I tried to breathe, to calm down. He had asked if I was with the Trags – in Sondiv! Drake had joined them, had Roman? Is that why he was always shoving Emery away? I needed to talk to Byron – to Loraine! "I can't. I just can't," I stammered and tried to push by him for the door.

He turned a little, but I still had to get around him to reach the door. "Is that why you befriended my sister, to get to me?" he asked in English.

I stopped. "NO!" I said, again astounded by his accusation. "I like her – it had nothing to do with you, Iksen of the People!"

"But you know that?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know you, do I, son of Nox, Abour Atedi, Iksen of the Itrejivil?" I asked in Sondiv, and I could feel my temper flare. "I know who you are and what you are. And here you are, trapping me in here to interrogate me and demanding that I tell you all my secrets? Damn you." I held my head higher. "I am Iksen of the Tgorasad, Atriarch of my people – the High Tribes, and I don't answer to the Zwahan Iksen. I hold my responsibility above all else, for those I serve and protect. But as far as anything else goes, that's not your concern – it's mine – my responsibility," I told him angrily. "Now let me out."

He moved, and I stormed out of the room, my heart pounding erratically in my chest. I had been found out by Roman – Iksen of his People, heir apparent Abour Atedi. And judging by his attitude, I had no idea if he'd keep my secret or rat me out to the Hwatab in the Sector. Or worse, to the Trags.

I was screwed. I didn't know what to do. I walked to the parking lot in a daze. Would he tell? Can I trust him? I realized I had no choice, but I'd avoid him from here on out, unless he showed any sign that we were on the same side.

I saw him approach the SEU bus. He looked at me, the same look he'd given me in the locker. Our gazes locked on one another as he stood by the door of the bus. I had no choice but to trust him. I saw Lynne, Durren and Colben walk by him and enter the bus. Roman followed them in. I remembered his speech at the Commencement ceremony. He'd said that he wanted peace, and for Atrians to be able to walk down the streets with humans… I was so conflicted.

"You okay?" I heard Drake ask.

I looked up at him and tried to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He angled his head, searching my face. "No, you look upset."

"I had a run in, but I'm better now – you're here," I said and tried give him a convincing smile. I could tell it didn't work. I turned my head and saw Emery and Grayson kissing and could see Roman watching them – or Drake and me – from the bus. I looked back at Drake.

"So no beating up anymore humans tonight, okay," I chided him and laughed at his put-out expression. "A true Atrian knight. Who knew?"

"No, a Vwasak warrior," he said, putting his fist into the palm of his other hand. "Far better and more effective than your wimpy medieval knights. I don't need armor or a sword."

"No, you don't, do you?" I said, actually smiling. He was so adorable. And confident.

"Good night," he said.

"Good night brave Vwasak warrior," I said and then repeated it, "Is that said right? Vwasak?" as if I hadn't heard the word before.

"Very good. Yes," He leaned down and kissed me, a brief caress of his lips, but sweet.

"Drake. Bus. Now," the guard yelled.

Scowling, he turned and ran for the buss, and I watched him go. Lordy, but he was so cute.

I went to find my cousins to go home. Boy did I have a lot to tell Loraine tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 5 ("Dreamers Often Lie")

Loraine and I had discussed my botched up encounter with Roman until there was little more I could say. We covered every detail, every expression, and I knew that I could've handled it better, should have, but what was done was done. Now I had to untangle it. Our history, the history of Atria, my people and his had been in conflict for at least two millenniums – ever since our ancestors put the first harness on a palikon to ride it and created boats that crossed the seas, and lately, in the last several thousand years, mostly over ore rights and of course, the Atrian version of gold, zoltu, and ikonill, the mineral base of our strongest metals. We went to war over our other natural resources such as what you'd call crude oil in the early Industrial Age, but mostly those three: zoltu and ikonill and crude oil. Then eridralny, mithrilny, dilithalny – we had them – apparently abundantly – and they wanted them. Then we discovered nuclear fusion – hydrogen atoms combined to form helium in sojiksen, and of course nuclear fusion at much lower temperatures by fusing hydrogen absorbed in a dilithalny catalyst. The space age formed…

It's not as if the highland tribes and the lowland tribes had to be at war anymore, our world was dying and we were searching for a new home world, a new colony. But there was two millennium of distrust between our people and his.

The other problem had been the Cæveh: the builders. They had been in antiquity fierce fighters, defenders of their territory. The Vwasak thought they had been wiped out a million years ago. They had not, and when the conflicts arose again in the Second World War, well, let's just say we had the Cæveh fighting along with us. It ended in what humans called a cold war. Nox's great-grandfather had tried to end the conflicts, he'd even spent some time as a young man in the Cæveh high reaches and Sævad caves.

Well, anyway you understand it now, right?

I arrived in school, wondering how I was going to bridge this gap between Roman and me, but instead of going to English lit, my homeroom class, the entire junior year was herded off to the auditorium. The teachers all stood on the sides of the room as Miss Garcia told everyone to settle down and find seats quickly, admonishing those who were lingering in the aisles.

After the pledge of allegiance (of which I still perform even though I feel at odds doing so considering I'm Itrejivil and not a citizen nor will I ever be) and the morning hologram announcements from the principle, Gloria Garcia told everyone that the Atrian seven will be allowed to spend one day outside their sector – in town. My heart soared at the announcement; Drake will be able to have one truly free day!

Emery, of course, was concerned about security, to which Miss Garcia assured her that there would be plenty of SEU guards present and the local police to assure the Atrian's safety. That seemed reasonable to me, although I hoped that also meant that the seven wouldn't be shadowed around.

"So a dog with a longer leash," Drake said, not as excited about being allowed out as I'd thought he'd be. I thought that's what he wanted – freedom, freedom to walk around where he wanted to go. To be able to do anything he wanted, like a normal teenager, even if it's for one day.

Erik leaned forward and said to Drake, "We haven't put you down yet."

However, Sophia looked delighted, though. "And we can go anywhere we want?" she asked, her light blue eyes shining with happiness at the prospect of going to town, seeing new places and having new experiences.

"I'd rather go back to the Sector," Teri said with her usual disdain. Even though I was getting tired of her attitude, I found myself agreeing with her. Even though it wasn't what she'd meant, I wanted another chance to go back into the Sector. I wanted to find the woman of my tribe I'd met last time and speak to her, and to meet others of my tribes.

"Now, there is an idea," Zoeda said snidely under her breath.

Teri glared at her. Ever since we started school, I could clearly see that Teri didn't like Zoeda anymore than I did, maybe even more. Did she know that Zoeda was Itrejivil?

I turned my attention back to what Miss Garcia was saying. "We will monitor your progress very closely over the next few months," Miss Garcia continued to say. "If you break these rules, you'll lose those privileges. But if you abide by them, it could lead to greater freedoms outside the Sector, for all Atrians."

I wanted to clap, but didn't. Decorum at all times, Me-ma and Meheka had always impressed upon me. So I clenched my hands together even though I wanted to beam ecstatically. Keep a calm, serene demeanor. But I knew I was smiling anyway, regardless of my efforts.

I saw Drake look at Roman, who was watching Emery and Julia, then he turned to Teri (who was glaring at Zoeda again) as the bell rang. Ironically that was exactly when Roman looked at Drake before he leaned forward and grabbed his bag. I smiled at that, thinking it funny that each had failed to catch the eye of the other person they'd turned to.

But as people started to get up, my thoughts repeated what Miss Garcia had said about this being a test, one to set a criteria that could lead to even more leniency for the Itrejivil. I really hoped that the event went off without a hitch. Freedom outside the Sector. The integration program was working. I was elated.

I saw Emery approach Roman and offer her congratulations. I knew for her that this was an exciting prospect as well, and, as I leaned down to pick up my bag to leave, I saw that she was beaming with happiness as she walked with Roman up the aisle. But when I stood up to leave, Emery was talking to Grayson, surprisingly enough. It was the typical high school boy-girl-boy romantic triangle drama: boy likes girl, but the girl like another boy who is not available emotionally to have a relationship. Even though Roman was not pursuing Emery as Grayson was, I could tell, as did many people in school, that Roman really liked Emery. But for some reason, he was not interested in being in a relationship with her. I felt sorry for her in a way.

Suddenly Grayson said loudly, "It's all for you, Emery," and everyone turned their heads wondering what he was on about. I laughed; he really was trying hard to win her.

Roman apparently had approached Lukas, and from where I was, it looked like a serious discussion, not a friendly-social one. Both had weighty business-like, no-nonsense expressions and were cautious to glance around, making sure that the people nearest to them were not paying attention to them. It was good Roman was making friends, but it confirmed to me that if I was to get into Roman's circle of people he confided in, I needed to convince Justin and Jason to befriend him first. But they wouldn't do it.

They both felt that to do so would mean that they would have to expose themselves to Roman that they were Itrejivil, Highland Sævad Itrejivil, and neither wanted to do that, even for me. I tried to convince them that they could befriend him first, gain his trust and then reveal that they were Itrejivil later at an opportune moment, but they were adamant that they didn't want to. Technically, since they were both of the Sævad tribe, and I was the Tgorasad Iksen, I could make it a formal request, an order, one that served the people. But I hated doing that to a friend and especially ones I called a cousin.

As I watched Roman and Lukas talk, I wondered what they could be discussing so seriously. But neither was in my confidences, so I know that they wouldn't tell me.

Instead, I approached Drake to congratulate him on his day of freedom. "So, you'll have a full day outside of the Sector and be able to go anywhere you want to go," I said. "Any ideas on where?"

He laughed. "Are you asking me on a date?"

A date? Oh I wish. Would he accept? I decided to play it cool. "Or, more like offering to be a guide to all the fun spots. Like The Mug Bug, or Mama Jean's Café," I said, and he looked amused. I suppose it did sound like I was suggesting a date. "Mama Jean's makes the best soups, but The Bug makes the best hamburgers and fries," I added, hoping he'd accept.

"Good to know," he said, not a commitment or acceptance, but not a no either. Did this mean I had a date with Drake? My stomach did a flip at the thought.

But his smile faded as Teri and Durren approached. "I'll see you around," he said, following them.

Later in chem, I was blocked from my desk again by Drake's feet. He turned his head to look at me, pressing his pen up to his lower lip. "Yes?" he asked as if unaware.

Right. I had a feeling it was on purpose; he did it nearly every day. "Your feet, do you mind?" I asked, pointing.

"Well since you asked so nicely," he aid and moved them. But he said, "Yes, na jistyes," softly before I walked away.

"Yes – to…?" I stopped and turned. Yes, he wants to? Wants to what? To the date? I smiled. "All right," I said and took my seat, still smiling.

Lisa Turpin leaned over to me and said, "I think he likes you."

"What?" I asked as I set my i-Tablet, notebook and pen on the desk.

"He likes you," she said again, grinning.

I shook my head. "No, it's..." But I turned around to look at him, and he smiled at me from behind the pen he held up against his lip, his eyes shining with mirth.

"Well, you've a thing for him," she persisted. "I'm not into, well, that alien thing. But if you are, I suppose he is cute."

I turned quickly to look at Lisa. I knew that she was the type to gossip, I've overheard her talking her friends in the halls. "I – it's not… Okay, he's cute, and I like him, but it takes two and so far we're not."

"You're so blind. He's totally into you," she said, and sat up properly as Mr. Jacobson started lecture.

After class, as usual, Drake was one of the first to leave, so I still didn't know what he meant by telling me, 'Yes, na jistyes,' na jistyes meaning I want to in Sondiv, unless it was for hanging out in town.

After break, I tried talking to Jason in the corridor near the Biology classroom about befriending Roman.

"All right, I'll talk to him. But unless he shows any interest in sparking up a conversation about the LSU Tigers or the Saints, we won't have much to talk about." He looked down the corridor and leaned in closer to me. "I seriously doubt he's interested in mechanical engineering dilithalny catalyst sojiksens and plasma drives."

"He might like Itrejivil pulse induction field transmitter-receiver communication devises.Especially ones that don't set off the electro-magnetic sensors."

"You mean the SEU electronic sensors?" Jason looked at me in shock. "You expect me talk to Roman about Itrejivil synthetic alloys for miniature resonator transmitter-receivers?"

I tipped my head as I raised my eyebrows, smiling knowingly. His response was so predictable.

"No. Hell no."

"Then football it is," I said with a cheeky grin.

"Maureen, he's not into football," Jason stated as if I were daft.

I knew he was right. But I had no idea what Roman was into other than the safety and welfare of his people, and Emery's. But that wasn't a good introduction topic. I couldn't think of one thing that Roman was into that Jason could broach the subject on and open a conversation.

"How about herbal medicine? Or ask him about… life in the Sector? Or aerospace technology?" I asked as I looked down the corridor. "Here he comes. He's alone. Now's a good opportunity."

But Jason simply shook his head and walked away.

I leaned against the wall, holding my bag against my chest with both arms. Roman stopped near the door and looked at me. I waved my fingers at him, but he didn't acknowledge me. I looked away, glad that he hadn't approached me about the Itrejivil people I protected as I'd feared he would after my outburst when he'd confronted me about my herbs. When I looked back at Roman, he was leaning on the other wall watching me speculatively, but kept his distance. Here we were, both Iksen of our people, whose personal agendas were basically compatible to each other's, and we were avoiding each other. How ironic.

Suddenly, Roman pushed himself off the wall, and for a moment I thought he was going to come over and talk to me, but Teri and Lynne arrived, Drake and Corben behind them. Roman turned to Drake and pulled him aside instead.

In biology, we were assigned partners and given our fetal pigs for dissection. My partner was Emery. Somehow Taylor's attempt at maneuvering to get Drake as a partner failed, and she was paired with Zoeda; that would be interesting. Drake was paired up with Teri, and Roman with Lynne, who looked very relieved. I know who would be doing the dissection in that team - Roman. Loraine got Justin, much to her relief. I knew she was not looking forward to doing the pigs. I was, and I hoped Emery had a light hand with the scalpel. I'll have to show her some techniques and how to hold it, that will help. David Kraft, one of my science and chemistry tutors, and I had already done a few animals when I was younger, when he had been teaching some of the older kids in our tribe. He'd always said I had an active curiosity and encouraged me in every way. I really loved the sciences because of him.

As I packed my things, I saw Roman glancing at me furtively a few times, hurriedly packing his own bag. I glanced at him as I slung my bag strap over my shoulder and caught his eye again. He leaned to watch me when another student moved into his line of sight. Yes, so he was going to try and catch up to me after class. Great. I wasn't sure how I thought about that. I knew he'd have questions. How many of our people were living on the outside, for one, and where. That was what I wanted to avoid.

But as I left the classroom, even though he was close behind me, he didn't follow me when I turned down the hall for the library. I snuck a peek before I turned the corner and saw him talking to Drake in the hall instead.

Since PE was my next class, and they were doing swimming – and I obviously couldn't, I had been given study hall, and my PE teacher had given me an essay to write on 'famous swimming athletes.' I'm sure it was payback for not being allowed to do all her laps in the school pool. I wanted to get to the library and see what I could download from the sport magazine files.

At lunch, I asked Sophia if she'd like to sit with us again, but she looked at the table where her brother was and shook her head as she looked back at me. Only she didn't make eye contact. I felt alarmed. "No, I can't," she said sadly.

"Are you all right?" I asked, wondering what if anything Roman had said about the incident in the locker room.

She made a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I shouldn't," she said.

"But why?" I asked.

She quickly glanced at her brother again. "I'm expected to – maybe another time?"

I nodded, wondering what had happened. We had been getting on so well. Roman had to have said something, and I felt a sense of dread when I remembered him asking accusingly if I was a Trag. I wanted to get Sophia a lone to ask and possibly explain.

Of course I didn't get another opportunity to speak to Sophia for the rest of the day. And Roman was too preoccupied in whatever he and Lukas were doing.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day, as I was hanging up my jacket and putting my lunch in my locker, I saw Lukas running to Roman with an electronic device in his hands. This time I could see it clearly – and it had Itrejivil parts embedded in it.

Whatever he was saying to Roman was serious, judging Roman's expression. The thing was, if Roman was working on something with Lukas, it meant that whatever it was it wasn't for the Trags. Lukas was most definitely 100% human; he was a tech geek and really good student, top of the class, and often thought of as a nerd. To me he was an all right guy, funny, smart and nice. I'd hoped to befriend him since he was pro-Atrian. I hoped whatever he and Roman were doing it was legal.

I heard Emery asking Erik where Grayson was. "I dunno, why don't you call him," Erik said sharply as he started walking away.

"He's not answering his cell," she said, going after him. "He left to pick you up last night."

Erik looked taken aback. "He did – he…"

"Erik, what's going on?" she persisted.

He stopped and turned to face her.

"What's going on? He never made it back to the movie last night, and he wasn't in class this morning," Emery stated.

Erik looked around, saw me and pulled Emery aside, out of earshot. Judging by his body language and the way he kept looking around, I knew this was serious.

"Arrested!" Emery exclaimed. "For what – what did you do?"

Erik looked around again, agitated. He said something I couldn't hear and walked away.

I walked up to Emery. "Everything okay – no, I know it isn't. What happened?"

"Grayson and I had a date last night," she said, and I nodded, thinking, that was great.

Emery shook her head and walked off. I chased after her and grabbed her arm. "So tell me. What's wrong?"

"I-I can't," she said.

But I knew from her outburst that he'd been arrested. "Try me," I persisted. I drew her aside. "You're troubled, and I thought we were friends – well, becoming friends," I added when she looked away. "Let me help, or at least let me know what's going on."

"Grayson got a call from Erik, asking for a ride – an emergency – so he left. He never came back."

"I noticed Grayson's not at school," I said. "But I heard you say arrested – was he?" I asked and she nodded. "Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll be okay. His parents will sort it out. They are very well off and connected in the community. I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding…"

She looked apprehensive. Was it really that bad?

"I don't know, this…"

"I can make a call. I have a, well, neighbor who's on the police force." I had to stop calling every adult male in the houses 'uncle.' No one had a hundred plus uncles. I pulled out my phone and called Frank. The phone rang, but he didn't pick up. "Frank, its Maureen. I have a favor to ask. I heard that a friend – of a friend – Grayson Montrose was arrested last night. Please, call me back. I want to know if he's all right. It's important to me that he is. I'll tell you why later." I hung up. "He'll call me back."

"Thanks for trying," Emery said sadly.

"I'm sure that whatever it is it was a mix-up. Grayson is a nice guy – nerdy, but sweet. And he has been standing up for the Atrians, not like Erik who's always trying to goad Drake into a fight."

"I hope you're right," she said as we entered class.

In chemistry, Drake was acting weird – off. He hardly spoke to me except pertaining to our experiment, and we had a quiz afterwards. I finished quickly, and turned my paper over. I waited until Drake was done before whispering, "Are you okay?" I seemed to be asking that a lot lately.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said and took his test up to the desk. I followed and turned mine in too. Out in the hall, I asked him again. "Are you – did I do something to upset you?"

He turned his head, "No," then looked at me. "We can't – I have to do something Saturday."

I got that lump in the chest feeling. "Oh, okay," I said, trying to rein in my disappointment.

He looked at me, watching my face, then shook his head and looked away. "I have to go," he said.

I nodded dumbly, and he walked away. I headed for my locker, not really intending to follow Drake, just at a loss of where to go. We had break and I didn't want to buy a juice or anything. I saw him ahead of me, well his back, and I wondered what had come up. Had Roman said something to him too? I wanted to know if he had and what he'd said so I could sort this out.

At lunch the seven Itrejivil were all sitting together, although when I smiled and waved at Sophia, she made a very tiny wave with a wistful smile. Roman looked up at me and then said something to his sister, and she looked down at her food. Now I knew that he'd told her to avoid me. Damn. Drake turned and stared at me, then turned back around. I could only speculate that Roman had told Drake too.

With a heavy heart, I joined my cousins at the table and tried to act like nothing was amiss.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Saturday, I dressed carefully again. Not that I had a date with Drake or anything, but I wanted to look my best. I chose a short sheath dress in a bright periwinkle, one of my best colors and paired it with charcoal tights and slight heels. But on second thought, I changed to a pair of black calf-length, heeled boots instead. More practical for walking in and they looked hot.

Loraine raised an eyebrow at my outfit. "What?" I asked.

"Who are you trying to impress?" she asked. "Oh, never mind, I know. But I thought he cancelled your date?"

"He did," I said as I led the way to the car. "But he'll be there, and I wanted to look nice."

I was lucky to find a good spot considering how crowded the streets were (and only because a lady had just pulled out). As I got out of the car, I saw the SEU bus arrive with three SEU guard trucks. "There they are," Loraine teased.

"You know what this means? If things go well, Drake and the others will be able to leave the Sector during the day – no more restrictions," I said, closing the door.

"If everything goes well," Loraine stated.

"Spoil sport," I said and walked to where they were getting out of the bus.

Sophia and Roman were the first off, and Sophia was looking around in wonderment as if she had stepped into Wonderland or OZ. Teri, of course, looked totally unimpressed. Drake was the last to leave and looked about the square as if finally free. I snapped his picture. "You're pathetic," Loraine said.

I saw Taylor talking to Zoeda as she scoped out Drake, and she lowered her sunglasses as he walked by her. Did Taylor have her sights set on Drake? She was so beautiful, from a rich family, sexy, always fashionably dressed and the popular woman's magazine's version of perfection. How was I going to compete with that? But he just kept on going, not heeding her flirtations. But Taylor had her hunter look on as she watched him walk away.

The next thing I knew, she walked up to Lukas and Sophia, rudely brushing Lukas off and dragged Sophia away. What's up with that – Taylor befriending Sophia? I decided to follow them.

"Where are you going?" Loraine asked.

"Dunno," I said, keeping a good distance between Taylor and Sophia. I saw Roman talking to Lukas again, but didn't want to lose Sophia and Taylor.

Not surprising, Taylor took Sophia to a designer boutique. I went inside and pretended to shop. She put Sophia up on the Virtual Shopper and pressed the button. "Now that looks good on you," I heard her tell Sophia. "But let's try something… Oh, I love this on you, too." She tapped the screen, showing Sophia how to switch looks. As Sophia tried virtual shopping, Taylor asked, "What about you and Drake? Have you two ever dated?" Great a scoping ploy, and not even a subtle one. She is pursuing Drake. Crap.

"Nooo," Sophia said and looked back at herself in the monitor. "Drake pretty much keeps to himself."

I pulled out a purple lace dress with sequin hologram dots. Nah. There was a cute cranberry V-neck sheath with a very nice cut. Cranberry is a color I like.

"So… he's a man of mystery," Taylor said softly. "Have you seen him with anyone?"

I held up an ocean teal faux wrap, low V-neck dress with a ruched waistband, letting the light reflect on the silver sequin embellishments, as I waited for Sophia's answer, admiring the cascade at left hip.

"Not that I've noticed, but then he talks more to Roman more than to me," Sophia said as the sales clerk brought over the items she'd, or Taylor had, requested on the Virtual Shopper.

"But you're around him?" Taylor asked slowly as if Sophia's answer threw her.

I placed a blue dress on the hook with the cranberry sheath dress and picked up a black lace bodice dress with neutral lining, nice V-neck front and deeper V-back and a super-flattering silhouette.

"Oh, yeah, he's over at our pod a lot," Sophia said. "I've just never heard him mention anyone in particular."

I grabbed a coral dress and the three dresses on the hook when they walked to the dressing room, but the conversation between Taylor and Sophia in the dressing room turned to more general talk about what was hot and not in Edendale.

I paid for three of the dresses, wondering when I'd have an opportunity to wear them – Me-ma insisted we dress casual to school, not in anything high fashion or expensive so as to not draw too much attention to ourselves. Taylor tapped her foot as she waited for the next sales clerk.

I followed Taylor discreetly to The Mug Bug, a noted hot spot. As I walked in, Sophia was walking off with Lukas, but Taylor made a beeline for Drake, who was sitting all by himself in a corner table as if waiting for someone. Drake shook his head and indicated that she leave with his thumb, but she sat down anyway. Drat. I sat at an open table where I could see them clearly and watched, curious. I knew from Taylor's inquiries in the dress shop that he hadn't been waiting for her.

He leaned in close to her, and she did too, talking intimately. My heart sunk. She got up, and he followed her. From where I was it looked as if she was going to the bathroom – with him – or was it coincidence? Maybe they were leaving out the back door?

"So there you are?" Loraine said. "Find anything in the boutique?"

"Yeah," I said and passed her my bag. "Where are the guys?" I asked as she pulled out the cranberry and blue dresses and then the black lace with the great silhouette.

"Oh you know, being guys," she said, folding the dresses. "Three? Me-ma will tan your hide – and they are expensive," she said in surprise looking at the receipt.

"Not that I won't let you wear them, too," I said. We were the same size after all – a convenience that doubled our wardrobe.

"Oh, well, in that case," she said, handing back the bag. "What are you looking at?" she asked, turning around.

But there was nothing for her to see; Drake had gone off with Taylor. "Oh, nothing," I said, looking at her.

We ordered food and talked.

Next thing I knew Zoeda sat in the chair that Drake had abandoned, and then Teri sat down across from her. "Now that is odd," I mumbled.

"What?" Loraine said and turned around. "Zoeda and Teri?"

"Yeah, meeting, obviously." I picked up my phone to snap a picture, and saw Zoeda stab the table near Teri's hand. I jumped in shock, but apparently got the shot anyway. From my angle it looked like Zoeda's knife had been jabbed into Teri's hand – or possibly between her fingers, I hoped. Whatever was going on between them, it was serious, and Zoeda obviously hadn't expected Teri to approach her. But Teri had a cool confident 'I'm here anyway,' look. Drake came back from the restrooms and ran up to the table. It was another confrontation.

"Don't turn around, and start talking about anything," I told Loraine as I held up my phone, recording the exchange. "I need to look past you at something going down, and it has to look like I'm not staring."

"Okay," she drawled out slowly, then chatted about a book she'd read in great detail as I held up my phone, recording what I was seeing going down at the corner table.

Teri pulled a cube from her pocket and shoved it into Zoeda's purse. It looked really familiar – like something the Dævas kept locked up in their artifacts cabinet. Zoeda said bye to Teri with snide smile and a little wave of her fingers and got up to leave, and Drake went with her. Was Zoeda a Trag? That would make a lot of sense. "I have to review this," I told Loraine as I watched Drake follow Zoeda out. He walked by my table, glanced at me, but looked away as if guilty about something.

I replayed the video and zoomed in on the cube. I did recognize it, it was a sliver box – like a six-sided kirsyna frame – but I couldn't tell if the sides were glass or not. Only…

I replayed the image. The way Teri held it, I couldn't tell, and there weren't any glass-like reflections that I could detect. But from the size and shape of it it could be a Cmierk ostka, a death cube. The mystics used one like this to turn ciper cmiertel – deadly. What was Teri doing with it? And what was Zoeda… "Fuck!" I exclaimed jumping up. "Come with me," I ordered and hurried for the restrooms. If Zoeda had a death cube and ciper, she could make black ciper!

"What's wrong," Loraine asked as I searched for a quiet place I could make a call.

A girl came out of the bathroom. "Watch the door," I said and dove in, locking the door. I called Meheka and told her what I suspected.

"Send me the video, child," she said in Sondiv.

"Right away, honored mother," I responded in Sondiv, in case anyone was at the door, listening, as I downloaded in an email to Ihmen. "Ihmen has it. Watch it; I'll call Sephen and Byron."

"No, call Ian," Meheka said. "I'll notify the other Iksen and have them watch it too."

"Byron and Sephen are our Trag infiltrators," I said still speaking softly in Sondiv. "I will need to alert them to the problem. And I may need to ask Deon's sons to help me if I have to hunt down and destroy black ciper."

"One thing at a time, dear," Meheka said. "Be careful around Zoeda, she's not one to trifled with."

"I remember, I'll be careful," I promised. "Tell Ihmen to check her emails. I'll send her anything I uncover, okay?" I left the bathroom and pulled Loraine with me back to our table. "I have to go. Watch my bag and stay here. Keep an eye out for Zoeda, Drake or Teri. Something is going down and I have to go. Take pictures of anything suspicious." I didn't wait to explain more.

However, once I was outside, I couldn't see Drake or Zoeda anywhere. Or Teri for that matter. I searched, but they were gone. I realized that I should have asked Loraine to help search, and now I was not going to find them. I returned back to The Bug and slid into the seat across from Loraine. I told her my suspicions and let her see the recording.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"No," I said with a sigh. "But the other Iksen will look at it and maybe they will know."

Across the room, Taylor sat down at a table with Teri, and from the way they moved, they were drinking alcohol, if I'm not mistaken. Another odd pairing. I didn't think Teri liked Taylor at all. I snapped a picture.

I saw Sophia sitting alone in a booth and decided to talk to her. I slid into the seat next to her. "You're avoiding me," I said. "I – why?" Lordy I sounded like a pouty sap.

"I'm not," Sophia started to say, but I shook my head.

"What did Roman tell you?" I asked.

She looked away. "Nothing," she lied. I could tell it was a lie; she wouldn't look at me.

I took a deep breath, leaned my head on my hand and turned toward her. "He mentioned that I had… odd herbs, didn't he?"

She looked at me.

"Ones humans don't – shouldn't have."

"Nooo… that's not what he said…" she said slowly. "Do you do drugs, is that it?"

I chuffed a laugh. "No, I don't do drugs." I dropped my hand. "Did he tell you to keep away from me? Please, tell me the truth."

She nodded and looked at her drink.

"Why, what was his reason?" I prompted.

"He said that I shouldn't trust you," she said as I stared at her, wondering if that was all. "He said you were," she paused, "Itrejivil."

I licked my lips and looked down at the table. I really liked Sophia. I really wanted to be her friend. Could I trust her?

"You're not, are you?" she asked and the uncertainty in her eyes made me sad. "You're not…?"

"Please, I'll tell you, but hear me out, okay? There is so much – it's dangerous, and I've so much I have to… protect," I stammered.

"You're not a Trag, are you?" she asked, and I shook my head, saying "No," softly with a lopsided smile.

"Quite the opposite. Can I trust you?" I asked, almost pleaded.

She nodded. "I can keep a secret," she said.

"I-I haven't told anyone else, but your brother found out the day you were given the sports drink, and…"

She simply watched me, waiting, and I paused. "This is really hard for me. I want to trust you, I do. But this – this isn't something… With the political climate as it is, we could end up in so much trouble. I'm not doing this well," I admitted. I looked at my hands. Might as well. "I'm Itrejivil," I said softly, barely a whisper, in Sondiv. "For ten years, I've been in… I have been in hiding, keeping a very low profile, protecting my family, ever since the crash."

She stared. "Hiding?"

I nodded.

"Are there others?" she asked softly, but the hope in her voice was encouraging. I nodded, and she breathed in relief. "Are you're from Eljida?"

"No, but there are people in my… family who have been there." I looked at her. "I'm Sævad, my mother was Iksen of my people, the Tgorasad, and I'm her only living child. I… We live outside town, but there are… others. I told you I had a big family. They – they're Itrejivil, mostly of the Tgorasad – but there are some that are not…" I shook my head. "This is not the best place to be telling you this." I looked at her beseechingly. "I'm not a Trag."

"I should've known, but I suppose I didn't really think about it. Roman thought you were… he suspects you of being a Trag." She put a hand on my arm. "Thank you for trusting me. I won't tell anyone; your tribe's secret is safe with me."

"Thank you," I said, and she nodded.

Loraine approached our table. "There you are. I wondered where you got off to."

We both looked up at her as she dropped my bag on the seat and sat down. "What?"

"She knows," I said softly, and Loraine's eyes widened.

"NO! About all of us?"

"I do keep calling you my cousin," I said with a shrug. "I was right, Roman…"

"Hey, don't worry about him," Sophia said. "Besides, now some of the comments you've made that day at lunch make sense. I wondered how you knew what I could eat – most humans don't. But you were so confident that it would be all right for me." She looked up at Loraine. "Your secret is safe with me."

I felt relieved.


	6. Chapter 6

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 6 ("Stabbed with a White Wench's Black Eye")

Last night, Ian woke me to tell me that there had been an explosion outside the Sector, but thankfully, as far as he knew, only two people had died, both of them humans. Not that _that _made me feel any better, but I did have a sense of relief that it was none of our people. I turned on the TV, but of course, there were no news broadcasts at this hour.

The elders and Iksen were going to convene to discuss the implications of the attack, but Meheka wanted me to stay at the apartment so I'd get enough sleep for school. Meheka, our Dævas Iksen, was interim Atriarch Iksen of the Hwatab as I grew up since my mother died when I was so little, and she still served as Iksen of the Hwatab while I finished school, standing in for me in our Hwatab meetings that I was unable to attend.

I called Patrik, a Sævad elder acting as interim Iksen of the Sævad, knowing he'd be up if the elders were getting together to discuss our options and position if any. He was a good man, quiet, objective and deliberative, very good with finances and budgets, and I trusted his wisdom. He assured me that we would be all right and that the Itrejivil in the Sector would be as well. "It was a failed attack, Mahureen, not an actual attack," he said.

"The Trags will not let this go, there will be retaliation," I said, voicing my fears.

"Possibly, unless they were the ones to do it – an attack on the SUE guards, that's also a possibility," he said.

"But Ian didn't say that the people hurt were guards, only that it was outside the Sector," I said.

"We will be alert and watch. Ian is up, and he will put the scouts on watch. But there is nothing else to be done tonight. So far we are safe and security around the Sector will be increased, I'm sure. Go to bed; I'll call you in the morning," he said, well, insisted.

I did felt better having spoken to him, and knew that he was right, but sleep didn't come easy. I was worried for Roman, Sophia and Drake – especially Drake.

The morning news broadcasts on all the a.m. news channels were saying that it had been confirmed that two Red Hawks were behind the attempted attack on the Sector – both were dead. There had been three people outside the SEU offices when the explosion hit, but one had been injured in the blast; 'He hurt his ankle – possibly a sprain or fractured', the reporter said, which wasn't saying anything really. But the other two guards had run to the location of the explosion to investigate. They were both interviewed, not that they had much to say that hadn't been covered. And Patrik had been right, many of the off duty SEU guards had been called back to duty last night and tensions in the SEU were high – fear of retaliation from the Trags.

But as far as my people knew, no one_ inside_ the Sector had been hurt. WAFB reporter, Arthur Brench, said that the flame-plume of the blast could be seen for miles – even across the river – and the blast itself had set off car alarms and rattled windows.

If the truck full of explosives had been in the Sector, many people would have died and been severely injured.

I knew that this attack would make Drake angry and to despise humans even more than he did. He was very protective of his people, and as relieved as I am that someone apparently stopped the two Red Hawks from blowing up the Atrian market, I wondered who it had been. Apparently no one knew, and there was only speculation to the person's identity. One of the theories was another guard or a passerby…? But that didn't make sense; why hadn't they stuck around? However, I was grateful nonetheless, whoever they were.

When I called Byron to ask if he'd heard or knew who might have stopped the Red Hawks, killing them in the porcess, for surely it had to be a Trag on the outside as the most likely candidate, he said he thought it had been Zoeda. "She's been hanging around the Sector for a while now, looking for a contact, or a way in, I think. We're told to stay away from the Sector – at least a hundred yards – but she's been defying her own orders."

That made sense; if she'd been hanging around there, she'd do what she could to stop an attack. But the thought of her not having a way back into the Sector was interesting – and an advantage for us since it was an apparent disadvantage for her. I relayed that information on to Ihmen to tell the Iksen. I got back the message on my phone: _Stop playing gumshoe, you're an Iksen for crying out loud. You've Zæsak scouts for that kind of thing. But I'll inform them_.

She was right, but I still wanted to know what was happening and hated waiting. Sometimes the whole process that the other Iksen went through before they acted on something seemed so slow. Thorough – every aspect, disadvantage and advantage, every contingency and repercussion examined – but it took so long. Besides, the whole advantage of being ubludnak was that I could move about among humans, pretty much unnoticed: yes, some of our Zæsak scouts had undergone the painful bleaching process. Back home on Atria, the word ubludnak had been a degrading sneer among some tribes – the word meaning 'bleached' in human terms. But now it's an asset.

That morning, I waited for Sophia to show up so that I could ask her if anyone was hurt by the explosion in the Sector. Don't get me wrong, I know what the news said, and I believed my elders' reports, but I still wanted confirmation. Sophia came up to me as soon as she saw me waiting.

"Hi," she said, smiling when she saw me.

"So, if you're this happy, I assume everything is all right in the Sector?" I asked, drawing her aside.

Her smile slipped slightly, but she didn't have a worried look, just a seriousness reflected in her pale blue-green eyes. "Yeah, of course," she said. "A few people fell or tripped when the explosion went off, but everyone is all right as far as I know."

"I'm so relieved," I breathed in relief. It was so good to have my fears assuaged.

"You really care," she said, and I nodded and looked up at her.

"They are my people, too," I said in a very low voice. "Even though we are on the outside, we still have a connection to those trapped inside. I wish that humans would ease off, realize that we're not the threat they think we are. But…"

"For now, most of us live in restrictions," she said.

I thought that was putting it mildly considering the Sector was, for all intent and purposes, a concentration camp.

"How is it that you are able to move about? Did you remove your markings?" Sophia asked.

I shook my head. "No, they are there really pale." "Ubludnak," we said in unison, and I nodded. "It runs in my mother's, well, grandmother's tribe, the Sævad, our markings are lighter – mine are especially light. I – Loraine and I can use make-up to cover them."

"I wondered about that," Sophia said, thoughtfully. "I'd – I'm curious how you've survived all these years unnoticed."

"It's been hard. Some of us are bleached, but most of us are not. Those who can hide their markings with hair styles, scarves, makeup – we have an advantage. But most of us have to keep in hiding – in basements." I looked past her to see if anyone was paying attention to us. "We have houses with basements that are connected by tunnels. It's complicated, but we banded together in a community and keep to ourselves, even though we come from different tribes."

"How do you make money?" she asked.

I stifled a laugh. "The internet! You are curious, aren't you?" I asked, and she shrugged and nodded. "Some of us have small businesses and online sites – we use the internet as much as possible: buying what we need, selling jewelry, arts and crafts, even doll clothes…" I said with a shrug. There was more to it than that, much more. We started AtriDel first, making and marketing Atrian power cells and auto parts for electric cars, and two electric automotive shops, AtriMotors and Atri-Automotive Service, and AtriSolutions (which had 5 subsidiaries) that dealt with various energy solutions. "My aunts like to collect things from yard sales and flea markets and sell them on eBay. That kind of thing."

"I'd really like to see where you live," Sophia said.

"And I'd like another chance to see the Sector," I replied.

"Would you?" Drake asked.

I turned in surprise, wondering how much he'd overheard. "Yes," I said, playing it off. "You startled me."

"And you are about to be late for class," he said. Sophia and I gave each other conspiratorial grins and hurried to our lockers. Drake exchanged his things, and waited, arms crossed, until Sophia and I finished, and we hurried for English lit. We made it just in time for the pledge. I watched Drake as I recited the pledge, but he simply glared at the window until we were done. All through class, Drake's body language told me that he was angry about something. I didn't need to be told what; he was furious about what happened since the intended target had been the Atrian market inside the Sector. I couldn't say I blamed him.

In chem, he was so distracted that he was sitting forward in his seat, rather than leaning back in his chair, his forearms on the desk with his hands clasped tightly. It was the first time that his feet were not blocking the aisle – the first time I hadn't needed to ask him to move them. And he was lost in thought, only glancing at me as I walked by. But his gaze followed me as I sat down. I gave him a small smile, but he looked down at his hands.

I turned to face the front.

During the break before my next class, I found Julia standing on her own, and thought it might be a good opportunity to talk to her. I knew that Emery and Julia were best friends, but Julia seemed to like everything Atrian, and she had formed a friendship with Roman. Plus, ever since the day we'd been partnered on the bus for 'Arrival Day' (a day that would always be Crash Day to me) she'd been friendly to me as well. And I liked her upbeat, sunny personality and optimistic outlook on life. I just wish I could ask her how she'd felt since the ciper fire incident.

"Hi," I said lamely as I approached. "You ready for pig dissection?"

"Ugh, no. I'm not really into dissecting stuff; I am more a chemistry – math person," she said, turning off her phone and slipping it in her pocket.

"Oh," I said, making a mental note; she was not in my chem class. "If you need help, I'm pretty good with all this anatomy stuff. And I've done the pig before," I offered. Olive branch extended.

"You have? When?" she asked, intrigued.

I suppose it's odd to have done it before if we're just starting to do it in biology this year. "I was homeschooled…" I looked at my hands. "I had tutors before coming here. My science – slash – chemistry teacher and I did one of them."

"Me too, I was homeschooled, too. But mostly—" She stopped talking suddenly as if embarrassed.

Why? I cocked my head, wondering what had happened. She was really smart.

"I was in the hospital a lot, fighting cancer," she admitted since I had been quiet.

"You – cancer? Wow," I said lamely. Was that why she'd been given ciper – to cure her cancer? The implications of what it meant that ciper could cure cancer were staggering.

She smiled. "But I'm all cured now." And I smiled in return, relaxing us both.

"I'm so glad. Congratulations. You're a survivor," I said, amazed at the revelation; one that only led to more questions.

She nodded and turned rather quickly for her locker, but not before I caught the not too subtle shift of her eyes at something in the corridor. I glanced in the same direction and saw Roman and Sophia talking to each other. Considering the fact that she'd had ciper fire – and that I'd had to save her life during the commencement ceremony on Crash Day, okay, Arrival Day, I now knew what had happened. Roman, since he was the one she'd turned to get vire, had used ciper to cure her. But why?

Her eyes followed Roman as he walked by, then she glanced up at me. "Yep, all cured thanks to the miracle of modern medicine," she said with a cheerful smile lit up her face. But I could tell there was a lot more to this story than she was admitting.

"Were you battling cancer long?" I asked, which led to learning about her stay in the hospital, and how Emery and she had been on the same ward. I listened in rapt attention as we started walking to our next class. Her exuberant personality finally coming out as she relaxed with me. I had to admit, her story was amazing, even though she glossed over the fact that Roman had cured her with ciper.

"So, now I'm ready for the full high school experience," she said.

"Including boys?" I prompted.

She leaned in close to me as if imparting a secret. "Especially boys."

"Any one boy in particular?" I asked, now on safe girl-bonding topics.

She shook her head. "There are some really cute ones, but not anyone in particular, yet," she said before we entered the classroom and took our seats.

Miss Benton started off Biology with a quick quiz on the oral cavity. Several pigs were laid out, each with a pin pointing to the part to be identified: the incisor and canine in one, the hard and soft palates in another, the nasopharynx and the esophagus, the glottis and epiglottis, the tongue and the papillae. Not exactly a hard test even though we were only given a few minutes at each pig before Miss Benton told us to move to the next.

Once we were done, we were to drop off our paper on her desk and take our seats at our workstations. "You're to use the rest of the hour to begin the dissection of the neck," Miss Benton stated.

I walked over to the worktable that I shared with Emery.

"Dissect the muscles of the neck, expose the thymus glands," Emery said as I watched her work. So far I was impressed with Emery's work, even though she still felt a little queasy 'mutilating' the baby pig. Our pig had been one of the easiest to identify for the quiz. "Okay, that's them," she said, although she didn't appear to like touching them. "Yep, cheesy consistency."

"Makes you change your mind about cottage cheese, doesn't it?" I remarked, and she laughed even though she'd grimaced.

"I used to like cottage cheese," she said, and I huffed a laugh.

I watched her as she located the thyroid gland, located ventral to the trachea. Obviously she'd read the material, because she mumbled the instructions, but the dark reddish-brown in color made them easy to identify.

"My turn?" I asked.

Emery nodded and handed me the probe.

I separated the superficial muscles and glands from one another without cutting them, carefully exposing the hard-walled larynx and trachea, parts of the respiratory passageways.

"We're to find the trachea, then we're to probe for the esophagus," she said.

"Do you want to do it?" I asked, but she shook her head.

"You're doing fine," she said, holding up her hand.

I laughed and continued the dissection.

"'One way to be certain that you have located the esophagus is to open the mouth, slide the probe into the esophagus, and then feel in the neck for the tube containing the probe. Make sure you don't insert it into the bronchial passage'," she read from the dissection guide.

I nodded and inserted the probe. "Got it. Feel."

She did and nodded.

"Another day down."

"Thank god," she said, taking off her gloves to take notes.

I asked her, "Did you want to review or are we good?" as I removed my gloves as well.

"We're good," she said, then shook her head. "No, maybe we should, just in case."

"How are things with you and Grayson?" I asked a casually as I could.

"Oh, all right," she said noncommittally. "We're friends."

"It's so obvious that he likes you, but then so does Roman," I said softly.

"I'm not so sure," she said. "With Roman it's complicated."

I held my pen with both hands. "Has to be hard – protestors at the entrances of school and at the Sector gates each day reminding you that you're not wanted here, shouting their hate and condemnation; and the Red Hawks making it perfectly clear how they feel about you – that all has to be pretty hard to take."

"I know. He tells me he has to protect me, but…" I cocked my head, giving her a look that said 'go on'. "Like at the carnival, he wanted me to leave – told me that I wasn't safe."

"But won't tell you why he feels that way – only that he's doing what he's doing to protect you?" I asked. She looked at me as if to say 'how do you know'. "What if some of what he hears being shouted at the gates or out front of the school is personal – like leave _you_," I emphasized with a point of my pen, "alone? Or what if he hears about someone wanting to get at you, a personal threat? Then there are those Red Hawks conspiracy theories – especially the one on Atrians having sex with humans to breed."

"I—" she said and closed her mouth.

"It has to be hard, dealing with all the taunts, threats, smears, accusations every day – twice a day – and having to pretend that it doesn't matter. Walking by them and pretending you are not listening," I said.

"Or that what they say doesn't affect you," she added.

"I'm not sure how well I'd hold up," I said sincerely, and Emery agreed.

The rest of the week went pretty smoothly. I divided my free time between getting to know Julia and Emery better and spending time with Sophia. By Wednesday, Drake was once again starting to act like his usual self; he even leaning back in his seat, although he didn't block my path with his feet until Thursday. I almost tripped on them, and his hand reached out to stop me just in time. "Shouldn't you watch where you're going?" he asked.

"So sorry, I was," I started to say, but he said, "distracted," the same time I did. "Yeah."

He leaned back in his chair.

"Your feet, do you mind letting me by?" I asked, surprised he hadn't moved them.

By the lopsided grin he had when he moved them, I realized that all the times I thought he might've been doing it to annoy me he might've been flirting with me… But I thought that was just wishful thinking.

I stayed after class to ask Mr. Jacobson a question about one of the chapter questions; I knew the book was wrong and wanted to know if he was aware of the error. He assigned me an extra credit assignment to write up my 'theory' and present it to him. I walked back to my desk, grabbed my bag and headed out the door at the back of the class. But just as I opened the door to leave, Drake walked in, baring my way. "I – er—" I turned my head, thinking he wanted to speak to the teacher, too. "Mr. Jacobson left," I said, looking up at Drake. He was so close, I was starting to feel self-conscious.

He looked at me, his mouth stretching into a half-smile. "I wasn't looking for him," he said and his hand cupped my elbow, drawing me even closer. "I wanted to see you."

I licked my lower lip. "Me?"

He nodded and leaned closer still. "You," he replied and kissed me. He put his other arm around me and pulled me closer as we kissed, and I leaned into him, the arm holding my bag strap hanging by my side, the other onto him. I have no idea how long we stood there, just kissing, but suddenly he stopped, and I clutched his jacket-vest to keep from swaying.

He chuffed a laugh and left the room before I did. Later in Biology, I caught him glancing at me, and blushed. Why, oh why can't I be smooth and confident around him? I can conduct a full Hwatab with confidence while asserting my authority in a dignified manner – but one look at Drake, and I'm putty. Or giddy. Or blushing.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Friday at lunch, I wanted to sit with Emery in hopes of getting her to open up to me more. Our talk in Biology that day had been encouraging, and I was beginning to feel that she and I were becoming real friends. I saw her sitting with Grayson, and was deciding if I could join her or not, but she had got up from her table the moment Julia walked in.

"What about the ball?" Grayson asked as he turned in his seat, watching her go.

Emery turned around, said, "I'll let you know," and went up to Julia.

Interesting. I knew that Grayson's parents were throwing a big charity ball at their house. Lots of people were talking about it, but I wasn't invited. Not that I expected to be, and quite frankly, I didn't really want to: politicians and big important people from the area raising money so Mr. Montrose could run for Congress. Nope. As much as I'd like to dress up, I wouldn't go even if I'd been invited. We had to maintain a _low_ profile, always, and me and my Iksen were not interested in politics or any involvement in human government. Science communities – yes, aerospace – yes, certain modes of transportation and fuels – yes, even the stocks market for investments and the news so we were well informed. But not hobnobbing with the politically powerful – no.

I saw Emery pull Julia to a small table by the windows, obviously wanting to be alone.

I sat with my cousins, and to my surprise, Sophia was already at our table.

"I didn't know you'd be sitting with us!" I said, slipping onto the seat next to hers.

"I can eat with my brother any time," she said, smiling.

"And I dragged her over," Loraine stated.

"I'm so glad that you did," I admitted.

We had sandwiches and green drink, Nanina's specialties, and on the list of nutritionally approved choices by the school board. Sophia had plain turkey on wheat bread and apple juice.

Nutritious lunches were all the rage, as were healthy calorie choices, so no chips or junk food was ever permitted in the lunch room. How rice cakes and dry meat slices on bread counted as a nutritious healthy calorie choice, I had no idea, but as Sophia said, the Atrian's had no say in what they were provided or how much. I felt bad for her. I'd see if Nanina would pack extra for Sophia from now on.

I was on my way to my locker before Spanish class and just about to walk around the corner when I spotted Zoeda waiting by Drake's locker. I quickly ducked back, hoping that she hadn't seen me. Every now and again, I peeked around the corner, wanting to avoid her at all costs, and I hoped she'd leave since my locker was across the corridor from the Atrians' lockers. Great for seeing Drake everyday – bad if Zoeda was hanging out with any of them, most of all Drake.

Sephen told me that the girl was utterly unbalanced; Byron called her a fanatic, completely unhinged from reality. They both agreed that she was a real zealot, utterly devoted to 'the cause' above everything and everyone else. She spoke of Vega as if she were a god who would deliver us from the evil hordes of humans – all 7.9 billion of them. 3,000 Itrejivil (more than half of the population were elderly, women and children or techie) against millions of armed soldiers and fighter pilots. Oh, yeah, we'd stood a chance. We'd need our aerospace fleet here, all of them, to do that, especially the battle cruisers and war ships.

When Drake arrived at his locker, Zoeda said something to him. Drake didn't turn to look at her, facing his locker instead, but from where I stood, he was using it to cover his response. Damn. I watched them, trying not to be obvious.

I heard Zoeda say, "Boom," rather loudly, even though I didn't hear anything else. But that one word sent a chill down my back. Zoeda was obviously telling Drake about her part in the attack this morning – it had been her. Was Drake her contact outside the Sector? Was he still a Trag?

"Zoe, good work on the fetal pig dissection. Your excisions were very precise," Miss Benton said, stopping by the pair.

Zoeda made a little happy girl shrug of her shoulders as she replied, "Thank you, Miss Benton."

"Are you going to the charity ball?" Miss Benton asked.

Zoe tossed her head, her curls bouncing as she said, "You bet."

Drake said something to Zoe after Miss Benton walked away, and Zoeda, said something that apparently Drake hadn't expected to hear. I wished I was closer. I wanted to know what she was up to. But as she walked away, I did hear her clearly say, "Get yourself a government issued tux," and Drake turned, watching her go. He didn't look happy about it. But this confirmed that Drake was still involved with the Trags. My heart sank. Why? Was he falling for their propaganda? From what Sephen and Byron were saying, it was all Zoeda spoke about. I turned the corner and walked up to my locker.

Drake was still there, moving things around, but not actually doing anything.

I turned my head and saw Taylor confronting Zoeda in the corridor and smirked since I could sooo easily guess what that was all about. First Taylor makes a move on Drake, doing… whatever in the back of the Bug, and then he left The Mug Bug with Zoeda; now here Zoeda was inviting Drake as her date, or at least that is what I'm certain just happened, to the Montrose's charity ball. Only I knew that Zoeda was not interested in Drake – only using him for her cause.

After school as Loraine and I were driving home, she said out of the blue, "I dropped my keys and had bent down to pick them up, and I overheard that Erik boy say he quit – he's out."

"Out of what?" I asked Loraine.

"The Red Hawks," she said as if I should've remembered that, her eyes on the road ahead.

"What? No! Are you sure that's what he meant?"

"I heard Grayson ask him if he meant the Red Hawks and Erik said yes– for good. I was right there. I could hear every word. Erik said that he used to believe in what they stood for until what happened last night and something about Grayson getting arrested, almost going to jail," she said.

I nodded. Okay, that made sense. "I spoke to Frank, and I know what happened. He had told me that Erik turned himself in so Grayson, who'd been an innocent bystander that night, wouldn't take the fall." It had actually made me think better of the guy – a teeny bit. "Grayson and Emery somehow found the guys who had killed that guy and the real guys turned themselves in."

"I remember all that," Loraine said. "There's more. Grayson mentioned something about Vartan, that crazy redneck that is always spouting off anti-Atrian hate – well, he's apparently in charge. And he has other people in the school."

I nodded. "It makes sense, the sons of the ones picketing outside the school."

"Or daughters," Loraine pointed out, stopping at an intersection. "Some of these human girls are just as hateful." She drove on. "Oh and one more thing, I heard Grayson telling Emery that there was a Red Hawk meeting after the ball."

"I'll tip off Ian, he'll want to know," I said as I sent a long text.

"Why don't you just call him," she suggested.

"I'm almost done," I replied, tapping out the message.

"There is more," she said as she turned the corner.

"Okay?" I said slowly, trying to finish the text.

"Grayson's parents are the leaders of the Red Hawks."

I lowered the phone and stared at her. "What?"

Loraine nodded. "He – Justin overheard Drake telling Roman at the SEU bus."

I typed in, _there's more – meet with me_, hit send and closed my phone. I sighed heavily. Drake and Zoeda going together to a ball at the home of the leaders of the Red Hawks. Oh yeah, that sounded good.

"I know," Loraine said.

I sighed and put my elbow on the window edge and rested my head on my hand. "I just wish I could get it all to move faster. I'm tired of this place – these people."

"And you still think another planet will be better than this one?" she asked.

I looked out of the window. "If it's ours, and we don't have to share it with indigenous people like these humans, then yes."

"Not all humans are bad, Mahureen."

I smiled as she said my real name. "I know, people like Julia and Emery are great – but there are more haters than friendly out there."

"You don't know that," Loraine stated.

"Local demographics tell us it is." I changed the subject. "Why didn't Justin come home with us?"

"Dunno," she said. "We'll ask him later. But I do know that Roman is going to the ball with Drake as his date."

I looked at her in shock. "I thought he was Zoeda's date?"

"Nope, Roman is going to be there."

"Augh, and I could have finagled an invitation!"

Loraine turned to look at me in surprise. "You could?"

"Possibly," I said with my hand on my forehead. I slid my hand down my face.

"Don't smear your makeup," she admonished me.

"It won't matter – it's not like I don't have to use a dissolvent to get it off anyway," I moaned. It was true; we wear enough of it that I have to scrape it off with makeup remover each night. Good thing is that the Bare Minerals doesn't look like I'm coated – not like any of the drugstore makeup does.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Late that night, I was coming back from the Trag house, the new home of my cousins, Sephen and Byron Walsh, (after delivering some neuro-stimulators and a diagnostic resonance imagining hologram) singing along with the car radio. Both were now 'stationed' in an old abandoned warehouse off hwy 32 and used this house as a hideout. The warehouse was remote, perfect for a florescent hydro-farm, and the land around the warehouse was pretty wooded, which afforded a lot of privacy, and it close enough to be useful. There were two young men of the Dævas tribe with Sephen now; Colton, one of our Dævas healers, and Brant, one of our Dævas cultivators whom I didn't know well. But with what they were doing, you never knew when a healer would be needed.

What I'd found out though, frightened me. Zoeda had procured a dangerous plant, nitjide. The nitjide leaf held a neurotoxin that caused a temporary paralysis of the victim's voluntary muscles and sensory loss and especially the victim's memory. However a strong dose of the neurotoxin could kill a human – Itrejivil might survive but only if under water so we could breathe through our skin. In other words, a human had to be on a ventilator to help them breathe and have nerve stimulators to keep body functions going until symptoms wore off – if they wore off.

Sephen said he'd find a respirator somewhere – and not to ask how or where. I hated it when he did that. Most of the other plants Zoeda wanted grown at the warehouse were common, but I had a flat of seedlings Brant gave me, one's that he didn't know. I suspected they were plants of the mystic tribe, the Iwabas. I hoped for my people's sake Meheka, Ihmen or one of the Dævas healers recognized them. If not they'd be given to the biochemists to figure out. Maybe Jhina or Adanha, two of the Iwabas elders living in the bayou, would know them.

Up ahead I saw Roman and Drake walking on the side of the road, dragging a body between them. Actually I recognized Drake first, so I pulled over and in the headlights of my car, I recognized the unconscious person immediately. "That's Grayson Montrose!" I exclaimed as I hurried over to them. "What happened?"

"He's drunk," Roman stated, but I wasn't so sure. And weren't they supposed to be at the Montrose's charity ball – not out here, in the middle of nowhere, drinking?

I looked up at both of them. Drake was in a fairly nice tux; Roman was in a dark tank, nice trousers and wearing mud-scuffed dress shoes. But both of them were covered in grass and mud – and Roman's clothes were wet. "What is going on here? Are you two..? Were you fighting?" Drake had a cut over his right brow and a slight contusion on the side of his face.

"Long story," Drake said, and Roman glared at him.

"We've time," I said. "Who were they, the Red Hawks? And why is – what's wrong with Grayson?"

Grayson stood-hung between them, arms flung over Drake's and Roman's shoulders, eyes open, but not limp like a rag doll, however it was very apparent that he couldn't stand up on his own. "Nothing, he's drunk," Drake said as Roman turned to look away, then faced me, staring me down. Drake hitched Grayson's body up to get a better hold on him, which made Roman have to adjust his grip on him, too.

"Drunk? But his parent's are throwing a party, aren't they? Why would you be out here – dressed like that?" I indicated Drake's tux with a flick of my hand.

Roman looked at Drake, who was looking at the ground.

I crossed my arms and stared at them. "Well, you're lucky it was me pulling you over and not a cop. So if you want my help and a ride to – I suppose return him home," I said, pointing at Grayson, "tell me the truth."

"Tell you the truth," Roman sneered.

I cocked my head and raised my eyebrows.

But it was Drake who answered, "We were saving him from being kidnapped."

My arms dropped to my sides. "Kidnapped? By whom?"

"The Red Hawks," Roman stated.

I thought his parents were their leaders – so why would the Red Hawks kidnap him? "All right fine," I said. I didn't believe him. I was certain it had something to do with the Trags or Zoeda, but that was only speculation. "Do you need a lift?" I asked, and Drake accepted. I could tell Roman would have preferred not to, but he helped Drake put Grayson into my car.

Drake sat up front with Roman in the back seat with Grayson. "Tell me where to go," I said, pulling back onto the street. I followed their directions, and took the ferry as they instructed. On the ferry, neither guy wanted to talk, so we listened to the radio. Once on land, I had to stop so Roman could retrieve his tux, then I continued driving, following their instructions, ending up in an affluent neighborhood and stopping next door from a party.

"We'll handle it from here," Roman said.

"Don't you want a ride back to the Sector?" I asked.

"Let us drop off Grayson first," Drake said, and I nodded.

"I'll be right here," I said.

Drake came back after a few minutes. "Where's Roman?" I asked, but he shook his head.

"He's not coming," he replied.

He removed the bowtie, stripped out of his coat and dress shirt, revealing a black tank, and tossed his clothes into the back seat. I was amazed at how good his body is, and couldn't help but look at him every now and again as I drove. Even in the dim light, I could see his markings clearly, starting from behind his ear, coming across his cheekbone, down his neck and along his shoulder and clavicle. As we neared the road that led to the Sector, Drake said, "Keep going," softly, but firmly.

I did, following his directions again, wondering where he wanted to go.

"Pull over," he finally said, and I did, putting the car in park. He reached over and turned off the engine. "What were you doing way out there?"

"I was on my way home," I replied, hoping he'd not ask me from where. He didn't, but he was watching me. "You're bleeding," I said. I undid my safety belt and reached for my bag on the floor by his feet, but his hand shot out, and he grasped my wrist, saying, "It's nothing."

I sat up, my wrist still in his grip; he wasn't hurting me, his hand felt warm and strong. He loosened his fingers when my gaze rose from his hand to his face.

"At least let me clean it," I persisted calmly, even though my heart was racing from the contact.

But he shook his head and let go of my wrist.

We sat in silence, and I had no idea what to say.

Without thinking, I reached out and touched one of the marks on his well-muscled shoulder: a thick, curved, pinnae-lated, masculine lines…

"Don't," he said, grasping my hand again.

"Why? I like them," I said, and I felt a flutter in my stomach as I looked up at him and our gazes locked on each other's.

"You like tats?" he asked as if not believing me.

"Tats? No, well, some tattoos, I suppose," I said with a shrug. "Although those are only decoration, right?" I reached out and ran a finger on them again, tracing some of the lines. This time he didn't stop me. "These are so much more." I lowered my hand. "You've a nice pattern."

"You're odd," he said with a chuffed laugh and a one-sided grin.

"You've no idea," I said and placed my hand in my lap.

"Then tell me?" he asked, and I looked up at him.

Tell you what – that I like you so much that I sneak pictures of you and then put them on my desktop at home? That I drew your right shoulder markings on my homework one day? That when you look at me like that I melt? Instead I shook my head and looked down at my hands.

He unlatched his safety belt and turned so that he was facing me. He moved forward as he reached out with his hand, cupping the back of my neck, his thumb lightly stroking my markings. Oh lordy what a heady feeling it gave me, feeling the warmth of his hand on them. No one has ever touched my markings like this, and I leaned into his touch, wanting… just wanting.

"Then show me," he said and pulled me to him as he leaned over me.

His fingers stroked my markings again, and it sent a shiver through me that I could feel all the way down… there!

"Cold?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, sensitive, I guess," I said.

He made a deep, "Hummm," sound, drawing me closer, and his lips touched mine. His kiss was languid and gentle, and I kissed him back, literally putty in his hands. I turned toward him, and his arm moved around my back, his hand caressing my markings there as he went. His other hand cupped my face as we kissed, and I slid one arm around him. It was so incredible, sitting here in my car, making out with Drake – at least I think this qualified as making out. He was such a good kisser. His hand tipped my head up and he kissed my cheek, nipped my earlobe and trailed kisses down my neck. I think I made some sound, because he laughed. He ran his tongue on the markings on my neck and the sensation literally shot through me, and I arched my back and moaned. He made a soft guttural laugh. "You are sensitive."

Suddenly my phone began to ring. "Damn," I breathed as he stopped. I reached for my purse and pulled out my phone and saw the time. "Oh, my gods, I have to get you to the Sector!" I exclaimed, dropping the phone into my cup holder, ignoring the call from Loraine. "It's nearly ten – you'll be in trouble!" I started the car.

"It was worth it," he said, but he returned to his seat and put the belt back on.

Thankfully I got him to the Sector in time, but barely. He kissed me briefly. "Thank you," he said softly.

"You're welcome," I breathed with a smile and bit my lower lip. His thumb stroked my lip, and he kissed me again.

I watched him leave and as the guard scanned Drake's tracking band on his wrist before I drove away, heading home. My phone rang again, and I pulled over to answer it.

"Yes, Me-ma. I'm on my way home now."

"Where are you? You should have been here an hour ago!" she admonished me.

"I got side tracked," I replied. "I'm fine; I'll be home in a few minutes."

"Hurry up, it's almost your curfew."

"Yes, Me-ma," I said, adding, "Goody-bye," and hanging up. I pulled back out onto the street, thinking about Drake as I drove home.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next morning the newscasts were brimming with the news that Mrs. Montrose, wife of Congressman Montrose, was the leader of the terrorist group, the Red Hawks. In the broadcast was a recording taken by the reporter of a smalltime online conspiracy mag, The SmatterChatter, of Mrs. Montrose telling her followers of their plans to eliminate the Itrejivil inside the Sector. The broadcast then showed Mrs. Montrose being led away from her home by the police, her husband, Congressman Montrose, saying "We're not going to stand for this! Don't worry sweetheart, we are right behind you."

"Well there goes his political career," Jason said and took a big bite of his eggs.


	7. Chapter 7

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 7 ("To Seek A Foe")

The Iksen held a meeting first thing in the morning. In other words – five o'clock in the morning. I keep telling the Iksen that _civil_ twilight would be preferable. It's only half an hour later and the sky would be blooming with colors even though the brightest stars would still visible under clear atmospheric conditions. In other words, five-thirty in the morning. I know, I'm quipping about an extra half hour to sleep in. You try waking up at four-thirty a.m. every Monday morning.

Only today is Sunday, all the more reason to sleep in, but Sephen and Rayne have come in to give report, and they had to get back before Zoeda realized that they were not where she expected them to be.

"Zoeda cannot get into the Sector because her markings are removed. She can't get past the guards. It is actually working in our favor right now," Sephen stated.

"But Zoeda is smart and cunning, even if she's an unhinged zealot, and she's relentless. She'll find a way to contact Vega," Rayne said. He was a Vawsak who had been living at the houses with Ian's trainers, but now he was trying to get 'in' with Zoeda.

"What we do know is that Zoeda is driving around in a car, hoping to run into Drake and Roman," Byron said, addressing the Iksen. "Zoeda is fixated on Drake and Roman. They prevented Zoe from kidnapping Grayson Montrose, which means she failed her assignment. She hates failure – and I know she'll attack again, this time she won't miss."

Meheka nodded thoughtfully. "Try and do what you can to protect the son of Nox," she said in that soft maternal tone that no one ever questions.

What about Drake? I wanted to ask, but didn't.

Once the meeting was over, Ihmen and I sat in the sunroom with the Iksen, enjoying a breakfast while we continued to discuss what was said in the meeting. Once we were done, I decided to give Emery a call and see what she was up to.

She was up, and I asked if I could come over.

"Sure," she replied.

I followed the directions to her house. I had clear view of the ARDhet, our spaceship, a huge, lopsided structure sticking out of the ground, surrounded by scaffolds and cranes, looming up over the housetops as I pulled onto her street and sighed. It's so large that it can be seen for miles, but I know that a good portion of what we call the Starbridge end is buried jack-knifed into the troposphere. Panels are missing from the hull, and ever since I've started attending high school I've wonder just how much of it has been taken apart and removed to some military base somewhere.

When I got there, Grayson was there. The TV was off, not surprising, as every station was broadcasting the news of Grayson's mother being the grand leader of the Red Hawks. "I'm sorry 'bout what you and your family are going through," I said to Grayson, but my deepest sympathies are for Grayson – not his parents. I know Grayson is a decent guy, even if his parents are Anti-Atrian extremists.

"Thanks," he said, adding vaguely that he'd be fine, but I could see by the haunted look and circles under his eyes that he was still shell-shocked over what happened. He walked out of the house, telling Emery that he was going to his uncle's house.

"My parents told Grayson that he could stay with us for as long as he needs to, but he's going to go stay with his uncle," Emery explained.

"It has to be tough on him, you know, all the press," I offered lamely as we watched him drive away in his jeep.

"Yeah, it is," she said and closed the door.

She would know, after the incident when her father killed Nox, the news was pretty relentless for a story.

I looked around. The house was really quiet. "Are you here by yourself?" I asked. I've never, ever, had a house all to myself. Loraine and I have been roommates, literally, since toddlers, and Tory, Catlin and Morin (Zæsak, our age and homeschooled) are in the other room of the apartment unit, and Justin, Jason and Loren (those three are Sævad) share the unit next to ours with Trenton, Travis and Tyson. Trenton is Sævad and our age but homeschooled as well. Travis and Tyson are Cæveh twins and complete opposites – Travis is sporty – Tyson techie. Amilee (Sævad) and Krista (Dævas) live on my floor too. I mention them because the way we all hang out together, you would think we were cousins.

Gareth, Mason and Arnund live down the hall, and the elders enrolled those three to 'keep an eye on [us] youngsters' – in other words – on me. Dunon is a Vwasak living in the apartment them – he hangs out with Gareth. Felicia, one of the Dævas and Moyne, one of the Sævad sharing a unit with Aria, Bryne and Tyria, Zæsak girls in another of the apartments, all a year younger than me; Ethan, Quinn and Dyvid, Cæveh who are two years older… Ten units on the second, third and basement floor, twenty-two bedrooms each… the adults, of the motherly types, on the second and basement floor, with Me-ma, Nanina, Daniel and our warrior protectors on the ground floor… and we know _everyone_. Get the picture? I'm never alone.

"My parents are out of town – they went to see my grandparents," Emery explained.

I could tell she was bothered, and after some prodding as we discussed Grayson's predicament, Emery emphatically assured me that Grayson was not a Red Hawk and didn't believe his parent's ideology. She told me about the reporter from the SmatterChatter.

"Emery, it's not your fault," I told her. "He's a tabloid reporter, the lowest form of gossip mongering, scum-'loid journalism. Tell you what, how about going to The Bug?" I suggested. "We'll call Julia and have lunch?"

Emery liked the idea.

As I parked the car, I saw Roman and Drake walking on the sidewalk. I was glad to see them. Things must be going well; well enough that Miss Garcia was able to get the privilege extended for the seven Itrejivil to be allowed outside the Sector on the weekends. But I looked around, knowing that it was possible that Zoeda was nearby as well, and it was possible that Roman and Drake didn't know that she was likely watching them somewhere.

"You coming?" Emery asked.

I closed my car door, saying, "Yeah, I'm coming." It was nearly noon, and there were plenty of people around. Zoeda wouldn't be foolish to do anything in the middle of town in broad daylight. So I followed Emery to The Bug 'for coffees.'

We met up with Julia in the Bug, Emery and Julia ordering huge lattes and me a milkshake. Emery, Julia and I snagged a table, and I listened to Emery talk about how guilty she felt over the Grayson-Roman situation she was stuck in, how she felt responsible for what happened to Grayson. But Julia was right, it wasn't Emery's fault that Grayson's mom was in jail for being a terrorist, and she had no way of knowing she'd be at the meeting.

Emery said that she couldn't choose Roman over Grayson, because Grayson had always been there for her, and now she had to be there for him, which is noble, but in my opinion sucks. Emery decided to put her relationship with Roman on hold for now, and try to keep things as just-friends with Grayson. "Until things settle down for him. He really needs me now," she said.

I saw Loraine at the counter to order food. "You want anything, a refill? my treat," I asked.

"I'm good," Emery said, but Julia smiled, asking, "Since you're offering, sure?"

I excused myself, said "Hi" to Loraine, ordered another latte and an Orange Crush for me this time around, well, I didn't want another milkshake, naturally. She asked where I was sitting, and I pointed out our table.

As I waited, I overheard Drake telling Roman that maybe they shouldn't have interfered with Grayson's kidnapping and let Zoeda take Grayson out after all, because if they hadn't Roman could be with Emery. So it was true, Roman liked Emery but had to keep his distance because of the Trags.

Roman turned his head, from having been staring at Emery, and narrowed his eyes at Drake. Drake held up his hands, saying that he is only joking as he gave Roman's arm a playful punch.

On the way back to the table, I heard Drake comment, "…your human girl," as I walked by with Julia's latte in one hand and my Orange Crush in the other. I smiled at Drake, and he turned his head, watching me walk by, but I saw Taylor approaching, carrying a few shopping bags. But just before I was out of earshot, I head Roman say, "You, too, with yours," and my heart skipped a beat. 'With yours' – his human girl? Did he mean me or Taylor? Was Taylor still trying to get with Drake? Roman knew I was Itrejivil – not a human – he had to mean her, unless he hadn't told Drake I was Itrejivil… Did Drake know or not?

"You okay?" Loraine asked.

"Yeah," I said, letting the subject go. Nothing to be gained wondering – I'd have to… what? Ask him? I couldn't do that. I shook it off.

As Loraine and I returned with drinks and a few baskets of fried foods, Eric and Grayson joined us at the table. Just because we aren't allowed French fries and fried pickles at home or at school doesn't mean we don't eat them.

I gave Julia her latte as Loraine and I sat down.

To my surprise, Erik opened the conversation with, "I can't believe that about your mom. How is she, I mean… have you seen her?"

"No, not yet, but I will," Grayson said and then quickly asked, "Actually can we talk about anything else?"

The six of us looked at each other, the expressions on each other's faces relaying that we'd like to come up with something else, to change the topic for Grayson's sake, but had no idea what.

Eric blurted out that he was failing trigonometry.

"Wow," Emery said; none of us expected that confession.

Julia answered, "Ah, I could tutor you if you want" then added quickly, "It's not that big a deal – trig is hard." Her offer was adorable and sweet, but Erik looked unsure. Julia said, "For some reason I picked it up quickly, but trust me, there are plenty of things I don't get," to make him feel better.

"Like cars," Emery said with a grin.

"You leave Bruce out of this," Julia retorted quickly.

"I'm sorry, who-who's Bruce?" Grayson asked, echoing my own thought.

Emery told us about 'Bruce,' Julia's beat-up old car that had been passed down for generations. Emery teased Julia about replacing 'Bruce,' and getting a new car, to which Julia replied that 'Bruce' held a place dearly in her heart. Apparently Bruce made chirping noises, to which Erik informed her was her fan belt.

"Or a reason to get a new car," Emery said lightly.

But Grayson thought she should keep Bruce, and said that, "Loyalty is important."

I looked at Emery. Ouch. Little did he know.

Ms. Bennett stopped by our table and asked if we were enjoying our Sunday, then told Grayson that she was sorry about his mother as the waitress collected the Emery's and Julia's empty coffee mugs. What? Is everyone going to be reminding him about his family troubles? Poor guy.

Miss Benton then said, her door was always open if he'd want to talk about 'it,' and ever the polite guy, Grayson said, "Ah, thanks, yeah, I appreciate it," to brush her off.

"See you in class," Miss Benton said and walked away. But I saw her pause next to the waitress' tray and to my surprise, she pulled out a white cloth napkin, then glancing around, slyly picking the two cups that Emery and Julia had drunk from.

What is up with that? All I could think was that the only reason someone used a napkin to pick up someone's cup was for DNA testing. I looked at Julia and wondered. Could ciper still be in her blood? Was that possible? There was no way to ask her here, or to confide in her that I knew that Roman had healed her with ciper, but I needed to talk to her about it at some point.

When we all left The Bug about an hour and half later, I saw Taylor on the sidewalk, struggling to carry all her shopping bags, (boy, what had she been doing – emptying out all the boutiques in town?) and she dropped two. Bending to pick them up, she dropped more. She finally got hold of the straps and took out her phone to make a phone call. I laughed. Crazy girl, can't she wait until she gets to her car to make a call.

I could hear her leaving a message for Zoe, something about debriefing about what had happened at the charity ball. When she hung up, she dropped some of her bags again, this time in the street.

"Taylor, wait up," I heard Lukas shout, and I turned, seeing Lukas dumping trash bags into the huge dumpster. He rushed over to help her pick them up.

Taylor smiled at him, grateful for the help, and she tossed him her keys, asking him to open her trunk. Lukas, sweetheart that he is, unlocked her car to release the back hatch. But the next minute, as Lukas opened the door, he began to cough. His coughing became worse as he collapsed on the ground, propped up against the car.

Taylor screamed for help, her bags on the ground as she hurried over to Lukas. "Someone help!" she screamed, looking about for aid.

Emery, Grayson and I ran for the car to help while Julia called 911 for assistance.

Other people rush over to help Lukas, but Erik spread his arms, keeping the crowd back as Grayson and Emery gently moved Lukas' body and carefully placed him on the ground whilst Emery begged for him to keep breathing.

"Julia called an ambulance," I said, but as Emery stood up, I saw her pick something, a dark purple leaf, off Taylor's car. I moved closer and gasped – a ciper-like leaf, only it was dark purple – black ciper!

I quickly pulled out a snack-size ziplock from my purse and urged Emery to put the leaf in it. I hoped she hadn't inhaled any of the spores as I zipped it closed and walked away, wondering what to do. But Emery suddenly took the bag from me and hurried over to Roman. Roman of all people! I followed her, and she showed him the bag.

Oh well. I didn't need the leaf; I needed to alert the other Iksen and find out where the plant was – fast! I backed up by a tree and made a phone call, asking Ian to alert every scout he could, hopefully paired with Dævas cultivators, so they can harvest a leaf and destroy the plant – and the Atrian body-host. "It's important, I need a leaf to save Lukas." I could see Drake, watching the paramedics work on Taylor, and I hoped she hadn't inhaled any of the spores. I doubted that she had – she'd been far enough away when the spores had gone airborne, only approaching when Lukas was on the ground. At least I hoped so.

I saw Roman approach Drake, and he showed the leaf to him as Ian said, "Are you sure?"

Behind me I heard Roman telling Drake that Emery found the leaf on Taylor's car. Drake said Zoe must have put it there.

Duh, guys. "Ian, Roman and Drake identified the leaf; it's black ciper, and Lukas inhaled the spores," I said.

"All right, keep me posted," he said, and he hung up.

"… back and talk to Castor – he'll know what to do," Roman said to Drake.

I was stunned. Ask Castor? Why him? Why not trust me for once? I thought as I saw Emery walking up to them.

"That was some kind of ciper. Did it do that to Lukas? Who put it there?" she asked as I approached Emery, Roman and Drake, and Roman looked at me, clearly not wanting me to be part of the conversation. "Roman, if you know something you need to tell me," Emery said, drawing his attention away from me. "That's my best friend who just got taken away by ambulance."

"He's my friend, too," Roman said, his attention on Emery. "But if we have any chance of helping Lukas, we've got to get back to the Sector and learn more about what this is." Emery didn't look happy about his comments, and I could tell from Roman's expression that he was not going trust me, even though he knew I knew about Itrejivil herbs, and from the way Drake shifted his weight, he was anxious to leave.

"I know that this isn't easy, but you've got to trust me on this," Roman said.

"I'll be at the hospital," Emery said.

Roman and Drake left to find a cure for the deadly poison before it killed Lukas.

Grayson approached Emery once Roman and Drake left and said, "The paramedics are doing everything they can to help Lukas. We just have to be there for him right now."

I had to get back to the cull-de-sac and gather the Hwatab. I can't have a human with black ciper spores in his blood walking about – they can spread! And I have to find the main plant – and that meant getting the information of its location out of Zoeda!

My phone rang – it was Ihmen. I backed away to take the call, hoping it was good news. "Rayne said that Brant is missing," she said.

"What?" that was not at all what I expected to hear.

"He was with Zoeda last, but she's been missing for days now – and now no one can find him."

"What are you telling me?" I asked trying to keep rein on my emotions. Calm, it's easier to think rationally when calm.

"Sephen said that Brant was pulled to do something for Zoeda. Rayne said that he is missing. He suspects that it may have something to do with your friend coming in contact with black ciper."

"They have to find the plant!" I hissed loudly.

"I know this," Ihmen said sharply. "But leave this to the Zæsak scouts!"

"Roman is involved," I said softly. "He's seeking out help from Castor."

"Castor?"

"Which means that if Vega is behind this, he may know," I replied.

"Mahureen," she said in a warning tone.

"If Castor is or can find out – he will help Roman. He's smarter than Vega, and regardless of his own agenda, he wouldn't want black ciper in the atmosphere." I hoped.

"Okay," she replied reluctantly. "I'll inform the other Iksen," she said and hung up.

I went to the hospital and found Sophia and Emery in the corridor outside Lukas' room. He wasn't doing well. I pulled Sophia aside and decided to tell her what my Dævas cultivators told me about black ciper. "If inhaled directly, black ciper spores can seriously burn the lungs of a human due to their toxicity; the spores collect in the alveoli of the lungs and enter the blood stream through the alveolar ducts. Thing is, the heavier spores damage the alveoli connective tissues, too."

"His airways are swollen, and he's having trouble breathing," she said.

I nodded. "I was told that may happen, making it impossible for the human victim to breathe. Atrians have a secondary lung system through our skin, we can be submerged while being treated for black ciper, but humans cannot."

"It grows like red ciper, right? Thousands of small plants bloom off an Atrian body?" she asked.

I nodded. "But they are long, vine-like plants that sway and twist, wrapping around each other, and they will entwine an unsuspecting victim if they are not careful. Now the spores are very light and carry well on even the lightest breeze – a fully mature plant – a full body of black ciper has a thousands of plants with several thousands of spore producing leaves."

Her eyes widened, and she darted a glance at the door to Lukas' room as a monitor went off in his room.

"Fire is the only way I know to destroy black ciper, but we have to find it – before it releases its spores. Since, Lukas was exposed to black ciper today that means that there is a plant out there somewhere in the second phase of its cycle. Roman needs to know this."

"So what Roman and Drake need to do is find the plant and destroy it?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I need you to trust me and convince him to call me – let me know where it is so my Dævas cultivators and Zæsak scouts can destroy it properly," I implored, hoping she'd convince her brother to trust me. I wrote my phone number on her hand. "This plant already has active spores – we don't have much time left to find the plant source and destroy the plant and the host body."

I knew that Rayne had been getting in tight with Zoeda, so I went to the house mentioned in Rayne's notes, 202 Heather Lane, and went to the door on the side of the house. Less obvious than breaking into the front door. Since it was now obvious that Zoeda had the cube, I thought that maybe there would be something that indicated where she'd buried the poor Atrian that she used to create black ciper.

Rayne, Byron and Sephen were checking out some of her other known hideouts. I was surprised that the doorknob had one of our locks and not a human one. Pretty clever indeed, but I wondered where she'd gotten one. We used these on the doors of the homes in the cul-de-sacs and the apartments, but we didn't sell them or make them available online.

Using my Iksen key, I unlocked the door and pushed it open with a old broom handle. Zoeda may be off balanced or unhinged as Byron put it, but she's clever. I checked around the doorframe and floor before entering. I know I'm being overly cautious but I've seen too many spy/secret agent movies to barge right in. Besides, I don't trust Zoeda. The room I entered was a kitchen and a really shabby one. I'd never eat anything that was cooked in here, and I've eaten alligator sushi before!

I moved forward cautiously. My feet made very little sound, thankfully. I heard a knock at the front door and stopped, waiting. Nothing. I hoped whoever it was left.

I looked into the next room, which was an empty dining room, and peered into the front room, but there was nothing there. Some trash and an old beat up recliner and a lamp.

I heard three thumps and a male cry of pain and hurried down the hall for the bedrooms, heedless of being cautious.

Drake was pinned to the wall with a rod of some sort sticking through him. I covered my mouth, unsure what to do as he started to push himself from the wall and off the shaft impaling him. I entered the room, looking around and saw the laser unit under a table. There were a lot of human electronic parts, computer elements, and some tools here.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, turning to face me.

"Looking for someone – or more specifically, something to be honest," I replied. I saw some plants, Itrjivil and human succulents growing in a wooden crate and immediately recognized tyledac, one we used to stop bleeding. I picked off a bright green, fleshy leaf. "What?" I asked, stepping toward him, holding the leaf.

"What are you going to do with that," he asked

"You're bleeding," I said, pointing out the obvious with my finger. I moved closer to him, and he grabbed my wrist. "I was only going to put this on the wound to stop the bleeding. It's tyledac, a natural coagulant."

"I know that," he said, still holding my wrist.

"This works better if you do it right away before the sap starts to coagulate," I said. "Take off your shirt."

He did, and although the wound was bleeding, it was small, thankfully. I pulled the petiole back and ripped out the primary vein to release the sap from the leaf. Drake watched me as I pressed it to his wound. "Hold this," I said, looking up into his blue eyes. "You'll need one on your back," I said. I broke off another bright green, firm leaf, and walked around behind him. I touched his skin; it was so warm under my hand and the markings on his side had a lovely, bold pattern. Get a grip, he's wounded! "This one is worse," I told him. "It's bleeding more."

"Then why didn't you pick a bigger one?" he asked.

"Because, as Meheka always said, 'the bigger ones are not always the better ones.' The firmer, flesher ones are better than the larger thin ones," I replied as I separated the primary vein. "It has more sap." I squeezed the leaf to exude more sap. "You – how did you find this place?" I asked as I pressed the leaf to his wound.

"I knew that if I buttered up to Taylor that she'd tell me where Zoe lived," he said.

"Are you – with her?" I asked as he handed me a roll of duct tape. Oh, well, it would work and keep the leaf in place.

"No," he said definitively as I tore off a piece and used it as a bandage. "Start looking."

"For…?" I asked as I dropped the tape.

"Anything that might indicate where she'd put a black ciper plant… Emery and Roman think it's near Black Bear Lake," he said, digging around.

"That's a pretty popular state campground; people go there to camp, hike and fish," I explained as I start looking, too.

We started going through boxes and crates; we found a maps, photos of people, and I was able to get the computer to boot up. There were pictures of Taylor and Zoeda and what looked like one of the wood houses in the bayou or… "A boathouse – it has a dock," I pointed out.

Drake reached into my bag and pulled out my cell phone. I was about to tell him how to find Emery's number, but he apparently knew how to use it. Actually I'm surprised he knew how to use it. "Hey, it's Drake. I'm at Zoe's. It, ah, looks like she's been living in some kind of Trag hideout. Found a bunch of photos – looks like a lake and a boathouse. Perfect place to grow black ciper if you didn't want anyone to see it." He said, presumably to Emery since Roman wouldn't have a phone. "Ah, okay, I'll get there as soon as I can," he said and grabbed a samurai sword off the wall. "I have to go," he said to me, turning to leave.

"Go where?" I asked, following him. "That boathouse?"

"I can't tell you?" he said.

"Can't or won't?" I challenged him.

"This doesn't concern you," he said, walking to the window.

Want to bet? "Yes it does, actually," I said, following him.

"It's dangerous," he stated.

"And I have a whole first aid and herb kit in my car," I said, grabbing the tyledac out of the box. "You said dangerous."

He stared at me.

"What, she'll know we were here, anyway," I said, indicating the bloody shaft in the wall. "Besides, we may need it."

"How do you know that will work on humans," he said, pointing at the tyledac.

I gave him an incredulous look. "It does, trust me," I stated.

He helped me out the window, but he turned to run away as soon as I was standing on the ground, so I grabbed his arm. "I have my car. I can get us there so much faster than you can run," I pointed out. He shrugged and followed me to my car.

I put on my Bluetooth before pulling onto the street and called Emery.

"Hello?"

"Emery, it's Maureen. Where in Black Bear Lake are you. Did you find the black ciper?"

"How did you know about—"

"I know, and I – where are you exactly?"

"We're almost at the campground on the south side of the lake," Emery said. "Call me when you get here." But I could still hear Emery talking through my Bluetooth. "Okay, we're not going to do this again – the whole I can't tell you for your protection crap."

Drake was urging me to hurry, but I wanted to hear what they were saying.

"You're better off not knowing," Roman said after a pause.

"Like it or not, I'm in this now," she said. "You really want to protect me, then tell me what we're up against."

There was a moment of silence. "Zoe is an Atrian. She had her Atrian markings removed so she can pass as a human. She is not the only one, there are other hidden Trags living outside the Sector."

"You're saying that there are hidden Atrians living among the humans and one of them is inside our school? Who are the Trags?" Emery asked. I could hear the concern in her voice.

"You've heard of the Atrian extremists who hate humans, right?" Roman asked. "They are the Trags. They are the ones who are targeting you and your family. One of those hidden Trags tried to kill you the night of the carnival."

"Then what the Red Hawks are saying is true, there are hidden Atrians trying to hurt humans," Emery said. Crap, exposing myself now to her would be tricky.

"The Trags are a fringe group, just like the Red Hawks, and just like the Red Hawks they hate race mixing," Roman was saying. "If they thought you and I were together, they'd kill you, just to send a message…" The signal ended.

Now I knew why Roman suspected me – he thought _all _unmarked Itrejivil living outside the Sector were Trags, and Trags had already targeted Emery. Makes sense.

I drove to one of the lesser used parking areas, the one closet to the lake and ended up at a locked gate. Emery's car was already there. I pulled out my phone and called Emery. "We're here, where are you?"

"We're going to an abandoned boathouse on the south side of the lake. Tell Drake we found the camp ground, but no sign of the black ciper."

"They haven't found it yet," I relayed to Drake. "I know the area," I told Emery. "If Zoe put it there. She'd want the location remote, near water – a boathouse would be perfect – but not if a fisherman, camper or hiker would find it and report it."

"No, if it is where I think it is, it's remote – no one goes there, well, hardly ever," she said.

_"_Okay, keep your phone on. I have an app that allows me to follow a signal," I told her, turning with my phone in hand, hoping to pick up a better signal. It's not a human app, it's something the techs put in our phones; it allows the scouts to find us if need be. "I got them, this way," I told Drake.

The signal ended. I put my phone in my pocket.

"What?" Drake asked.

"I lost them, but they are in that direction," I said, pointing. Drake took off running, and I had had a hard time keeping up, but I managed.

Suddenly, Drake stopped. Up ahead, I saw Roman kneeling – Zoeda holding a sword at his neck. "No matter how hard you fight for your precious humans, their time is over and so is yours," she was saying as I moved forward cautiously.

The boathouse was across the clearing.

"Hey, Zoe, you know what your problem is? You talk to damn much," Drake said, walking into the clearing.

I stood next to a tree with several crossbow bolts sticking out of the trunk, terrified.

"Roman, I got this," Drake said, "Go," then shouted, "GO!"

Roman and I ran for the boathouse as Drake rushed Zoeda, sword in hand. I stopped, watching Drake for a moment as he and Zoeda fought, then followed Roman to the old boat house.

"If she so much as disturbs the spores on one leaf it will trigger a release, and all the spores could become airborne," I shouted at him as I ran up the platform of the boathouse.

I stopped right behind him in the doorway. The plant was huge. Emery was standing inside the boathouse, the animated stems moving and twisting around her and the spores were beginning to release from the leaves, just starting to fill the airspace in the boathouse.

"Emery, don't inhale," I said, knowing I was a little too late. I saw the device in the main stock of the plant. She's a human; one set of lungs, one – and most of them can't hold their breaths for more than 2 min, maybe three and a half tops. The device looked small, too small and I worried that it wouldn't be enough. "I have this," I said as I took out my manicure kit and removed the scissors as Roman told Emery "Hold your breath." But Emery started to look as if she were straining.

As Roman dove for Emery, I quickly and delicately pruned off a twig with inch long young leaves and placed the twig in the case, snapping it closed carefully.

I backed away as Roman and Emery ran out of the boathouse.

I was only half way down the ramp when the bomb went off. The blast threw me and I landed with a hard impact that knocked the air from my lungs. I couldn't move – I couldn't breathe. I slid a hand down my stomach and felt something sticking out of me that cut my finger. I lifted my head slightly but it hurt too much, like nails pressing into my back, piercing my left kidney.

My head dropped back. My hand fell at my side as I stared up at the sky; leaves moved in the breeze and smoke – so much smoke. I had so many questions. Did Drake kill Zoeda? The cube – did they get the cube? Had the blast been strong enough to destroy it? The black ciper? The boathouse was still burning as far as I could tell, but would it be enough to destroy the host body? Was it completely cremated?

"Over here," I heard Emery shout. I felt something being lifted off my leg.

I heard people coming, saw Drake leaning over me. He tried to move me, and I cried out from the pain.

"Damn it. No," he said. He moved away.

"Hold on," Emery was saying. She pulled out her phone.

I saw Roman approach with my bag. "Here, use this," he said, kneeling beside me. It was getting hard to keep my eyes open, and my legs were getting numb. Roman handed Drake a 60cc syringe. "I – she carries these," he said. I saw Drake stab his arm with red ciper – heard Drake's inhalation hiss turn into a groan as the ciper infused with his blood.

Drake picked up my arm. The syringe looked over two-thirds full! Too much…

I closed my eyes as I felt the needle pierce my arm and cried out.

As the ciper coursed through me, I relaxed, hoping it wasn't too much. I felt the removal of the object in my stomach as if it was happening to someone else. Drake pulled me up so that I was sitting. "Get it out of her," he said. It hurt, taking out whatever it was that pierced my back.

"I'm so cold," I managed to say, and my head rolled back.

"Maureen, no, stay with me," I heard Drake plead.

He hugged me, and I tried to tell him, "I love you," but I'm not sure if anything came out. I'm not even sure I made a noise.

He laid me back down.

I was starting to lose consciousness, when I heard Drake hiss, growling through clenched teeth again. "Whoa, Drake…?" Roman said. "Drake, no, enough, let it work."

But even as I felt myself fade, losing consciousness, I heard Drake say, "I'm not going to let her die," through tightly clenched teeth. But for me, the world started to slip away, the image of Drake leaning over me, his blue eyes staring at me in concern the last thing I saw.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I woke up on my own bed, feeling more refreshed than I ever had any morning before. Loraine walked into the room in a robe, drying her wet hair with a towel. "You're up."

"I'm up," I replied.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Refreshed, rejuvenated and alive," I replied. "I think I almost died."

"You did, technically. Dyllan said your primary heart had stopped," she said, sitting on the edge of my bed, holding the towel her hands on her lap. "What happened? Drake was not exactly forthcoming – and you should've heard Me-ma and Nanina going at him for information. But he held his ground and carried you up here to your bed."

"What – Drake? Here. In our room? Loraine, NO! No," I looked at where Drake's pictures were taped to the wall above my desk. "Tell me he didn't see…"

"Your shrine?" she finished for me.

I covered my face with my hands. "Oh, please tell me he didn't."

"Yep, he did."

I dropped my hands to see her grinning at me.

"I think he was flattered," Loraine said.

"That explains how I got here, but how did he know where I live?"

"Me. He called me," she said. "Oh, Mahureen, I was so scared. I get this call from you – only wasn't you – it was him. He told me you'd been hurt and that he wanted to bring you home and asked for directions. So I told him. I was waiting downstairs for you when he pulled up in your car. I didn't know he could drive?"

"It's an automatic – it's not that hard," I said, but I was impressed. But then the Vwasak epigrammatic expression seemed to be, 'improvise, adapt, overcome and prevail' as their creed, of sorts. It embodied Drake.

"He walked around to your side of the door, and I thought, 'who knew – he's a gentleman', but then he literally lifted you out of the car and carried you. You were a rag doll in his arms. I've never been so afraid for you in my life."

He carried me, really? "Well, I'm fine now," I said and scrambled from bed.

"Where do you think you are going, young lady?" Me-ma asked, more a challenge than a question, from the door as she entered the room. "Get back in bed – you're not going anywhere until you've fully rested, and I get some answers."

Loraine chuffed a laugh and scurried over to her side of the room to dress for school.

But no matter how much I protested or insisted that I was fine, Me-ma, Nanina _and _Meheka all insisted that I stay home and rest. Got to love the mothering types.

Monday's Hwatab, I walked into the room, head held high, shoulders back, back straight and took the wysedia – the position of authority at the table. It garnered a few surprised faces, but I sat straight and tall as the others took their seats. I tapped the moltek on the table to gain everyone's attention and opened the meeting. "Every day as I drive to school, I can see the ARDhet," I said. "I want a current count of how many people we have living outside the sector – a _full_ report. I want an accurate number of people in Elijia, Negea or Ukaenos as well as those still hiding in the bayou. If any of our people have relocated to another state, I want to know."

Ian, the Zæsak's Iksen, made a firm nod of his head.

"In regards to the events from Sunday afternoon, I'm fine," I asserted. "I was given ciper right away, and my recovery, as you can see, is complete." I ignored the stirrings of protests and continued. "I will not be stepping down nor dropping out from high school. I will not be withdrawn without my consent – by anyone. My being there is my only link to the Sector, and I'm going to establish a relationship with Roman, son of Nox, Ikesn of the Trejivil. As Iksen of the Tgorasad, our agendas are compatible, and I intend to at some point sit down with him and see if the treatise set down by our great-great grandfathers can be upheld."

"And I will not be overruled in my decision," I said with a tap of the miltek. I proceeded to gave a brief and precise report of what I knew had happened. I knew what they wanted to ask, and allowed some discussion, but I controlled the floor. Then I had them make their reports and guided the discussions as I'd seen Partik do many times (and as Meheka had taught me to do).

I closed the Hwatab with a tap of the miltek, glad that I had my way.


	8. Chapter 8

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 8 ("An Old Accustom'd Feast")

When I arrived back at school, I saw Emery and Julia standing by Julia's locker, so I joined them. "Maureen, how are you?" Emery asked as soon as I'd approached.

"I'm better, thank you," I said. "Even though I'm fully recovered and rejuvenated, my Me-ma made me take herbs every morning to 'get my strength back' not that I need them. But I'm doing well." Yes, I was fine, but I had to eat several pieces of vire Monday night due to vmemogh – ciper fire, however, I was fine now. Apparently Drake had used quite a lot of his ciper infused blood to save me. Quite a lot.

I had pretty much figured that if Julia was this close to Emery, she probably knew everything already. I certainly knew she could keep a secret. I moved closer to Julia. "Being healed by ciper is a rush, isn't it?" I said softly.

Julia looked at me in shock as Emery asked, "You – remembered being healed… with ciper?" barely above a whisper.

I nodded. "Apparently Drake did it – twice." I showed them the bruises on my arm.

Julia looked at my arm, her hand touching a bruise.

I caught a glimpse of Roman in the hallway and looked at the girls. Emery and Julia knew about ciper and possibly the secret of how we use it. I wanted my friends to know the truth before Roman told them his opinion about me. I can trust them; I hope they would still trust me. "I have something to confess, and I – I really hope you keep an open mind."

Emery looked confused, but Julia, bless her, nodded in assurance. "All right," she said.

"Please don't hate me or… I still want to be friends, but…" I inhaled. I could see that Emery was bracing for the worst. Here goes. "I'm Tgorasad – an Atrian of the highland tribes – from the northern hemisphere of our planet." There. Said.

Emery recoiled in shock, and Julia's eye widened but she didn't look appalled.

"Are you one of those hidden Atrians living among the humans – the ones hiding inside of our school?" Emery asked, thankfully remembering to keep her voice down.

"Sort of," I breathed, hoping this played out well. I shook my head. "Yes and no. It's not what you think, Emery – not what he thinks," I said, indicating Roman's back with a glance in his direction and a jut of my head. I looked back at them. "I'm not a Trag. I'm sorry to have deceived you, but I haven't been able to tell people. It's a huge secret."

I saw Roman turn as he saw us standing there, and his face became hard. Emery was watching him too.

"Roman thinks I'm a Trag," I admitted quickly and before either of them could say anything, "an Atrian extremists who hates humans and who had my markings removed so I can pass as a human."

"Why?" Julia asked.

I cocked my head.

"Why are there Atrians extremists living outside the Sector?" Julia clarified.

"I'm – we're not part of the Trags. We weren't caught in the hunts. We managed to keep hidden for the last ten years, keeping to ourselves and trying to survive. Look, I'll tell you more, but yes, there are Atrians living outside the Sector, but we're not part of the Atrian extremists – we're not the ones who are attacking humans. Most of us are simply trying to survive among the hostile indigenous people of this planet."

"Hostile indigenous people," Julia repeated with a quirk of her eyebrows.

"Red Hawks," Emery said with a sigh.

"And your police, military, the National Guard and Homeland Security," I added.

"But why did you have your markings removed?" Emery asked.

"I didn't! I was born this way." So far Emery was taking all this in stride, maybe she'd understand – Roman surely wasn't open to the truth. "I have a skin condition, hypopigmentation, an absence of pigment or faint pigment caused by the depletion of melanocytes or a decrease in amino acidtyrosine, which is used by melanocytes to make melanin. It's an inherited recessive gene, rare but not uncommon among my tribe – the Sævad. But to humans, they think I have hyperpigmentation – blotchy skin – another inherited disorder. This skin condition, it's been useful here, I admit it, but I'm not anti-human. Now, Zoeda – you know her as Zoe – she's another matter. She's dangerous."

"She's dead," Emery said.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I really wanted to believe that, but Sephen and Rayne were not so sure. They had found the boathouse easily enough, and the remains of Beaumont's body, and although it had been sufficiently cremated in the fire, there was no evidence of the cmierk ostka – the death cube.

Emery nodded. "Drake said that she got caught in the blast."

I nodded, still unconvinced. "Can I count on you to, please, keep this to yourselves for now?" Thankfully Emery nodded, although, Julia was much more sincere about keeping our secret.

"I need to get something from my locker," I said, relieved. "See you in class."

Julia said, "Okay," in her usual upbeat way and waved as I walked away. At least Julia was unperturbed by the revelation, I hoped Emery was too.

As I approached my locker, I saw Drake standing at his. I walked up to him. "I wanted to say thank you."

"What for?" he asked, but he didn't turn his head, still staring into his locker.

I leaned on the locker next to his so I could see his face. "For saving my life," I said very softly.

He stiffened. "I didn't – you must be confused," he said, talking quietly into the locker.

"Really, I seem to recall—"

He turned to look at me. "It didn't happen," he said and slammed his locker closed.

He walked away and I knew that I'd made him angry. I sighed and then exchanged what I needed to for class. All through homeroom, he never looked at me, in fact I could tell that he was deliberately avoiding me. He even left after the lesson with Teri, and there was no way I was going to talk to him about it around her.

In chem, though, we had lab. "I did happen," I said as I sat down next to him.

"Let it go," he said as we began to set up the thistle funnel, glass jar, U-tube and flask we'd need to use.

"You saved my life," I said, setting up the water trough as he put three spatulas full of calcium carbonate chips into the flask.

He glared at me.

"I have the marks to prove it," I said, showing him the two red marks on my arm from the needle as I reached across him for the dilute hydrochloric acid. "See, I've proof."

"That's not proof of anything," he said. "Let it go."

I measured out the right amount of diluted hydrochloric acid. "Forget that you saved my life?" I asked as I poured it into the top of the funnel. "Or that you used ciper to save me?" I added barely above a whisper while checking that the liquid covered the tip of the funnel in the flask. "I saw what you did – and…"

He glared at me again.

"It's colorless," I said in a normal volume, indicating the flask.

"I can see that," he said as I wrote down my observation of the color, well, lack thereof.

"Look, you don't repay a life debt by turning on the one who saved you. I will never tell anyone, I promise. Your secret is safe with me," I said softly so only he'd hear. "I owe you my life, and… well, I just wanted to say thank you."

His eyes softened, but his mouth was still firmly set. He uncovered one of the gas jars to properly check the smell. "Odorless," he stated, not that I didn't know that all ready, but you have to do the steps.

He added lime water to one of the gas jars and gently shook the mixture. A white precipitation formed in the solution, then became clear as the excess Carbon dioxide bubbled through it. "I liked your room," he said with a smirk.

Oh yeah, the shrine as Loraine called it – a collection of pictures of Drake and the wrist band from the carnival. "About that…"

He shrugged as he lit a match. "Didn't know you took so many," he said, lighting a small piece of magnesium ribbon. He dropped it carefully into the gas jar.

"My phone has a camera," I said lamely as the ribbon burned with a crackling sound and formed a black speckled white solid. "You're very photogenic."

The corner of Drake's mouth twitched in a brief flicker of a smile. He put the universal indicator in place on the jar and shook the mixture gently to determine the pH. The mixture became yellow. No surprise there.

I began writing out the results of the project to hand in, then went to my desk to finish one of my homework assignments.

After class, Drake pulled me aside in the hallway. "You said you'd like to see the Sector again."

I wasn't sure if that was a question or not, so I simply nodded.

"Humans are being allowed in the Sector on Dinaskyu," he stated.

I knew about this and waited, hoping this was leading where I hoped it would.

"Miss Garcia wants each of us to invite a human into the Sector to celebrate Dinaskyu with us. It's an Atrian holiday in which we celebrate family and friends. I'm told it's like your Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays rolled into one."

I nodded again, biting my lip. We'd always compared it to the human Mother's Day and Thanksgiving, but all right. He put his hand on the wall by my head and looked at my mouth. "Roman tries to get me to join his family every year," he said as my lip slid out from under my teeth. "I know you'd like to see the Sector again – so would you like to come."

Yes. Oh, yes. "I'd love to," I said, trying not to seem _too_ enthusiastic about it. I wondered if I should bring haycue for his mom, flowers woven together to wear on the shoulders, but then realized I'd have to explain how I knew about that particular tradition. But if his mother was going to be there, I should bring something. Maybe a bouquet of flowers. "What about your family, are they all right with my attending such a personal family holiday?"

He looked away. "It will be just us," he said. He looked at me and leaned in closer. "If you're okay with being alone with me in my pod?"

I smiled at the implied suggestion, and when I looked up into his eyes, my breath hitched. I nodded. "Yes, why wouldn't I be? We were in your pod before."

"Yeah, we were," he said, stroking a strand of my hair. I blushed. I knew I was blushing because I could feel my cheeks getting warmer. He leaned down and kissed me. I closed my eyes, kissing him back. He pulled away and smiled at me. "Okay, I'll meet you at the gate." He shoved off the wall, took two steps back with a satisfied smile on his face and walked away.

I'm going to spend Dinaskyu with Drake! I'll be spending Dinasku with him in his pod!

In Biology as we worked on the pig dissection, Emery confessed that she hadn't broken it off with Grayson yet. "I don't want to hurt him, but…"

"Dragging it our will only make it worse. It'll be all right, but in every break up there is always one who gets hurt," I said. "I know you will be kind about it, but it sucks, I know." She smiled and we changed the subject. She tried to ask me questions about my family and our home in the vaguest way possible. I knew that Emery had questions, and she was trying to be discreet, which I appreciated, but I know my answers were guarded. "Maybe after school one day I'll bring you to the apartment, but for now, please believe me, we're average people."

"Who happen to come from outer space," she chided me in a whisper.

"Well, yeah."

After class, I saw Miss Benton approach Julia in the hallway, and I overheard her ask if Julia would like participating in an organic chemistry study. "I can't pay you, but I can give you extra credit," she said, and Julia asked, "Like an internship?"

Miss Benton smiled. 'Sure."

I closed my locker as Julia said, "That sounds great."

I walked toward her, and Miss Benton glanced at me, then said, "I'll give you details after school," and walked away.

I caught up to Julia after she told Emery that she'd bagged her first internship. "Not as exciting as your life, fitting in forbidden love and burning desire between lunch and chem," Julia said with a smile and a gleam in her eyes.

Emery shrugged saying, "I don't know what you're talking about," but Julia immediately said, "Please, details. I'm living vicariously through your escapades."

Emery said that being with Roman wasn't without its complications and that he'd invited her to Dinaskyu.

"I'll be there, too; Sophia invited me," Julia said, beaming.

"And me, Drake invited me," I chimed in.

"How come you don't seem more excited," Julia asked Emery.

"Roman said that his mom isn't excited about having humans in her home," Emery said and voiced her concerns.

"Isn't that more of a fourteenth date problem?" Julia asked.

"Like I said, complications abound," Emery said and turned to me. "What should I do?"

I would have suggested a haycue, but didn't know how well it would be received – she was a human after all, and a net was given to the men in our lives. I didn't know of any other Itrejivil custom for Dinaskyu. "We didn't do Dinaskyu like the Itrejivl did," I said softly. "We, the Tgorasad, when we adopted Dinaskyu, we infused it with our own rituals and traditions since our seasons were different – when most of the southern tribes had their spring, it was fall for us. But I can tell you the history of Dinaskyu."

Julia suggested she speak to Sophia. "She can teach you all the traditions, give you some handy Sondiv phrases," Julia said, a little louder than I was comfortable with. "By the day's end you'll be a Dinaskyu master."

"Phrases I can help you with," I said softly and glanced around. "The Trejivil nuances of the south, maybe not so much."

Grayson walked by us, and Emery's smile faded. "Still haven't broken up with Grayson, have you?" Julia asked.

Emery said she was going to meet with him after school. Julia said, "Good, once you tear off that bandage, you can enjoy your scandalous inter planetary romance, guilt free."

I saw Drake eating alone at lunch, but Justin and Jason herded me to our usual table to sit with my cousins – and Sophia, who was already sitting next to Loraine. I was so glad she hung out with us more, especially now that she knew our secret and was keeping it to herself. I saw Roman walk up to Drake. "Do you know what day it is?" Roman announced loudly as he grasped Drake's shoulders and sat down next to him. Drake answered, but his voice too soft to carry to our table.

"And you turn us down every year so you can sulk in your pod and smoke devour," Roman said, his voice carrying well.

I stifled a laugh. So that's his tradition – getting buzzed. "But, what if this year is different?" Roman leaned in close to Drake and lowered his voice.

Drake looked as if he was going to brush Roman off, and I knew why he might since he was planning on spending it with me. "No don't give me that crap about not having a family," Roman said, once again not caring who overheard him. "Because you have us, and we're not going anywhere."

I smiled. I saw them bump forearms, Roman beaming happily. Then I heard Drake say, "As long as I get to bring over some devour."

Devour. Well, I'll simply have to go buy him a really good cigar instead, I thought.

After school as Loraine, Justin and I waited for Sophia, I saw Gloria Garcia waiting by the SEU bus. She stopped Roman to speak to him, but whatever it was she wanted, it was pretty obvious that he didn't want to do it. I had heard that she'd arranged for some dignitaries to attend Dinaskyu tomorrow night – something that rankled with my own tribes, so I could only imagine how the Itrejivil in the Sector felt about having their holiday exploited, a holiday that's supposed to be about celebrating family and family ties, turned into a political event.

Roman walked around Miss Garcia, and she turned around and called out his name. She said something, and Roman stepped closer to her, his expression angry. After an exchange of words, Roman turned and walked away, leaving Miss Garcia scowling after him.

"So, Miss Garcia is using Dinaskyu to support her political agenda," Loraine said, unable to keep the contempt out of her voice. "It's an affront to us all. Inviting guests is one thing, but exploitation of our holiday for their entertainment isn't right."

"And I think she expected Roman to do his part," I replied.

"Ever since his speech at the Crash Day ceremony, she's been promoting him as the Iksen of his people, the one to help Atrian's rise out of the shadows and into society," Justin stated.

"Her society," I snarled softly. "It's an honored tradition of the Trejivil that should be respected – not mocked." I turned to face them. "By the way, Drake invited me."

"You're going to spend Dinaskyu, in the Sector, with Drake? The elders won't like it," Loraine stated.

I shrugged. "I'm going."

"Standing up to the elders? Now that I'd like to see you try and pull off," Loraine said.

"There has to be a way – I really want to go," I said with a sigh, but I knew she was right. Persuading them will be difficult.

I waved at Sophia, urging her over and asked if she still wanted to go to The Bug. The Hwatab meeting was scheduled for after dinner – eight o'clock, so I had time. She accepted, naturally, and Loraine told her she'd drive her to the Sector, "After some shopping and girl time."

Emery showed up outside The Bug, and I knew that our conversation would center on Dinaskyu. At least here I could actually do some explaining without worrying too much about being overheard.

Loraine excused herself, saying, "I have to go to Atri-Automotive to see Daniel. I'll catch up with you later," and hurried away.

As we walked inside, Sophia told Emery about the history of Dinaskyu for the southern tribes, "The Zwahan and later the Vwasak tribes were the first to hold the tradition," Sophia said. "Originally it was held before fishing season, before the men went off their boats for months at a time. Of course back then, kids would have to repair real fishing nets. Now we decorate tiny ones."

"And the women get flowers," Emery said as we slid into a booth.

I smiled as Sophia stumbled over the explanation of the reason behind the tradition of haycue trebiec – flower collars for Dinaskyu. "Like leis?" Emery asked, and Sophia nodded, saying, "Right, only we call them haycue."

"The flowers were introduced, as I understand it, from the Swamad, the agricultural tribe of Itrejivil – Atrians, when they adopted the tradition of Dinaskyu," I added to help Sophia out. "They didn't fish, they were farmers – harvesters. They already had a tradition of bringing flowers inside in the spring to, I suppose to freshen up the homes, make them smell like the fields and meadows. The Iwabas used to do the same, but when the flowers were at their peak, for drying and pressing to make remedies and perfumes. Mothers would be given ansushy sorotka or lueronaria sorotka – ansushy and lueronaria are common Atrian flowers, braided into chains or on twigs of a tree much like your willow and worn in their hair or shoulders. So the traditions overlapped, hence the flowers." Apparently Sophia didn't know that. "I heard that they started the tradition of decorating small nets with seeds and small semiprecious stone beads and filling them with flowers."

"They don't put the flowers in the nets," Sophia said. "Mostly the nets are given by the children to the men in their lives: fathers, older brothers or grandfathers and their Iksen."

"Our coastal tribe, the Zæsak, were the first to adopt the tradition of the small nets They typically decorated their net baskets with seashells, sea glass and semiprecious stone beads… or whatever the children are given or find to do it. The Sævad soon did, too, and some of the Dævas, only we make ours flat, kind of like the dream catchers I've seen," I explained.

"Should I bring flowers for your mother?" Emery asked Sophia. She really did want to make a good impression on Maia, wife of the late Nox and Roman's mother. Sophia paused, so Emery conceded, "Not a god idea."

But Sophia told Emery that she should. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it."

Since The Bug wasn't too busy, and we were secluded enough, Sophia and I continued to talk about Dinaskyu and other Itrejivil traditions.

Before we left, I asked Emery how it went with Grayson. "Not so good. He became angry, and well, he saw Roman and me at the hospital, and he also knows that I was with the reporter who wrote the story about his mother," Emery said, sadly. "I tried to explain that it was an accident but Grayson stormed off."

"I'm sure things will be okay," I said. "It's best to be honest with him. Besides, now you can have your clandestine moments with Roman in all the secret hideaways in school."

"Very funny," Emery said before saying good bye.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day at school, Drake was acting very oddly – and I could tell something was bothering him. He ignored me all day, and in class he seemed lost in his own thoughts and he'd stare out the windows or at his hands frequently, but he didn't call it off with me to attend Dinaskyu, so that was good, right?

At lunch, I saw Miss Benton approach Julia. Julia shook her head at whatever Miss Benton wanted, and our teacher looked disappointed. Miss Benton taught Biology, but she was singling out Julia for an organic chemistry projects of some kind. She specifically wanted Julia, I hadn't seen her approach any other students for her project.

I remembered that she'd taken Julia's mug from The Bug, and I feared it might have to do with the fact that Roman had cured Julia with ciper infused blood. I still had no idea if ciper lingered in humans the way it did for us. If it did, could ciper bond with human DNA? Ciper spores lived in us, in our blood; it was a symbiotic relationship. If it took hold in Julia… I had to ask one of our microbiologists.

I was relieved when Emery approached Julia and drew her away. But Miss Benton didn't look pleased, in fact she had a look of a woman who was going to keep trying until she forced Julia to do what she wanted.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I entered the security gates of the Sector with Emery and Julia and the rest of the dignitaries, and submitted to having my purse checked and my identification confirmed. Three other students were with us, and by the expression on their faces, this was the first time they'd been to the Sector. The SEU were really taking security seriously, (or putting on a good show for the military personnel and politicians attending Dinaskyu.)

As I entered the Sector, I looked around, but I didn't see Drake anywhere. Sophia, Lynne, Durren and Corbin were there to greet their human guests. But I didn't see Roman or Teri either.

Castor greeted us to the Sector and welcomed everyone to Dinaskyu. From his posturing, I could tell he was going to use this – the intrusion of the dignitaries on Dinaskyu – to his advantage. I hoped that what I'd been warned about Castor wasn't true, that he would have the welfare of the people as his primary concern. But the other Iksen didn't trust him. They have always told me that he was Trag, and that he'd sided with Edlund, Veda, Jasper and Uhstur in leading the dissent that led to the munity aboard theARDhet.

Castor singled out Emery right away. "Are you excited about your first Dinaskyu?" he asked her.

Emery hesitated and said that Roman's mom wasn't happy about her being here.

He smiled, seemingly sincere, but to me it didn't seem to reflect in his eyes. "My sister can be a very intimidating woman, but let me tell you a secret; just like humans, the surest way to an Atrian's mother's heart, is to make her son happy."

I inhaled. It was a veiled threat. Castor knew, and he was informing Emery.

"Well don't worry, you're secret is safe with me," he said with a lyterin's smile (a sort of lizard-like poisonous amphibian-fish that has a snout that looks like it's always smiling). "I'm just glad that you and Roman have found one another."

Shit. He knows. And he will use this against Roman.

"I'm not sure that anyone else would be happy about it," Emery stated.

Castor smiled. "Give it time."

There were some children with decorated Dinaskyu nets to give the visitors, but the child who approached Emery, pouted because hers had become tangled. I watched as Emery smiled and knelt to help the little girl with her Dinaskyu net as I accepted the one given me, thanking the adorable girl. But instead of fixing the net, Emery took one of the long strings and wove her fingers with it, ending up with a star. How sweet, I thought, but beside me, Sophia's eyes widened in surprise. Or realization, recognition, it was hard to tell.

I looked about, but I still couldn't see Drake anywhere. Castor asked me whom I was looking for. I was surprised, as if he wouldn't have known that I was Drake's guest. I greeted Castor warily, hoping that my tone stayed politely formal.

We were given a tour with the other dignitaries.

By the time we reached the market, I voiced my concerns to Sophia. "He'll be here," she assured me. "He's probably with Roman."

I nodded, hoping that she was right. I hoped nothing was wrong.

"If he doesn't show up, just come with me to our pod," Sophia said. "Roman said that he'd be joining us this year."

I remembered Roman's comments at lunch and wondered if that was why Drake was acting off… but that didn't make sense. There was something else going on, something had bothered – was bothering Drake, I was sure of it. Once again, I wondered where he was as I followed the other guests.

I finally saw Drake, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed as the other Itrejivil hosts took their guests to their pods.

His greeting was stiff, reserved, but I followed Drake to his pod. He glanced around before opening his door and let me in. Strange. But then he seemed to relax once we were alone.

I stood there, looking at him, taking in everything about him: his blue eyes, strong jaw, angular nose, strong muscled shoulders and trim waist. He seemed to be doing the same, just looking at me. I waited for him to say something, but the silence seemed to have an energy to it rather than feeling uncomfortable. I'd chosen a short, cranberry sheath dress and skinny-legged, black pants with my favorite boots, wanting to look nice for him, but conservative enough considering the significance of the holiday.

He moved forward, cupped my face and kissed me. Reflexively, I put my hands on his elbows, more to keep from swaying. His kiss became firmer, hauntingly sensual and passionate, so unlike the stolen moments in school. I sighed, letting myself give in to it, and his arms encircled me. I felt a light, woozy, and clung to him.

I felt the tip of his tongue along my lips, gently urging me to open up for him, and his embrace tightened as I did, allowing him to deepen the kiss. It seemed so sensual, his tongue on mine, exploring my mouth, and he tasted like humika, a fruit we make a fermented drink with. He responded, but there was a feeling of deep seeded desire and craving in his kiss, and I felt compelled to I try to give to him what he needed, reeling from the passion brewing between us.

Not that I hadn't dreamed of kissing him like this – I have. Often.

The kiss became a hungry, desperate. My head was spinning, my heart racing, and my mind seemed to completely stop functioning, my only thought of how incredible this was – how wonderful it felt. Spinning, heady – I felt his fingers slide the zipper of the mini dress I wore down slowly and realized he opened my dress. Did I want this? – although, in all honesty, I'm not really thinking at all.

He removed my mini dress, his hands on my skin, and my breathing became deeper. I backed away, looking at him. I removed my boots and black pants, and his smile became predatory, lustful and it thrilled me. I stood up, facing him, unsure. He walked forward, removing his shirt as he approached and once again was engulfed in his arms.

It was glorious, feeling his skin against mine, being able to touch him, really touch him, as he was doing to me, and no time he had me a mindless, reeling mass of jelly. He picked me up effortlessly, placed me on a table and leaned over me.

But the moment as we joined, I gasped out in pain – a sharp stabbing pain that tore through me, and I clenched my fingers into his arms, my nails digging into his skin as I cried out.

Drake stopped.

"What?" I asked, feeling slightly panicky. Did I do something wrong?

He looked down at me, then his eyes snapped to my face. "You're a virgin?"

"Um, yeah," I said, not understanding the problem. Surely he had to know he was my first?

"You should have told me!" he said, his arms stiff as he braced himself above me.

"Ah, okay, why?" I asked, confused. Except for the pain it had been wonderful.

"I'd have been more gentle with you," he said, and I sighed in relief.

I hadn't done anything wrong. Well, except to tell him he was my first. Did sex have proper etiquette that people followed, too? "Un, okay," I said, not at all articulate at the moment. "Can you?"

"Yes, I can," he said as if it was the most ridiculous question I've ever asked.

I nodded. "Okay," I said. I mean, we might as well, we've come this far. "Can you?"

He laughed and stood back. I thought he was going to say no, but then he picked me up and carried me to his bed.

I have to admit the second time though this he was more gentle, much much more. He took his time with each thing he did and in minutes I was writhing and pleading and grabbing at him, wanting more – much more. He had a satisfied smile as we joined, and while it did hurt a little, it was a bit better. No stars, no fireworks or blazing anything, just a slow build that escalated to a desire that seemed to melt me. Not at all what I'd read in those romance books, but it was really really nice.

When we were done, Drake pulled away, but I did see the contented look in his eyes. But when he wiped himself off with his shirt I saw that there was blood on him – on it – my blood. I moved, examining the bed and then gaped up at him. "I'm so sorry!"

He chuffed a laugh. "Whatever for?"

"I made a mess in your bed!"

He tossed me another tank. "It's fine," He chuffed a laugh and shook his head. "I'll be right back."

His bed was a mess. I hoped he could get the blood out. He came back with a bowl of warm soapy water and a washcloth. "Here."

I suddenly felt very self-conscious sitting on his bed, holding his tank in my lap.

He shook his head, laughing at me. "I'll be in the other room," he said and walked out.

I nodded. I cleaned up the best I could, and since my clothes were all in the other room, I put on a T-shirt left on the chair, which came to my thighs, and walked out to retrieve my clothes. Drake was talking to someone at the door. I waited in the doorway until he closed the door to pick up my clothes. I stifled a laugh as his stunned expression when he turned and saw me, smiled at him, then scurried back to his room to dress properly.

I dressed quickly, putting a pad in my underwear, for obvious reasons, and walked back out.

"I have to go do something," he said. "I won't take too long, I hope. You can wait here, if you want?"

"Ah, all right. Will you do me up, before you go?" I asked, turning my back to him.

"All right," he said, walking up to me.

But instead of zipping up my dress, he pulled my dress open and then swore, "What the… You're—" Suddenly he grabbed me, shoving me to the right and pinned me, bent over face-down on his table. I felt his tongue on my back, wet and slick, and inhaled sharply at the contact. "You're Atrian," he growled.

"Yes, I know," I admitted.

"Then why didn't you tell me?" he demanded, still pinning me to the table.

I turned my head. "When?" I asked, wishing I had confided in him. "I – we can't. We're not supposed to tell anyone."

"You were not supposed to – you're a Trag?" he snarled, letting go.

"NO!" I exclaimed as I stood up.

"But you've had your markings removed," he said, grabbing my face with a firm grip.

"No, I – it's not what you think," I pleaded as he examined me carefully.

"What I think is that you're one of those Trags," he said, forcefully releasing me. "What sort of game is this? Are you supposed to spy on me, is that it? You report what I do to Zoe."

I clutched my dress to my chest. "No, I'm not – it's not like that."

"Was this a test?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"A test – a test of what?" I asked. Of the Trags? Did they do that? "Drake, I'm not—"

"Spare me," he spat. "You've done your duty and then some."

I recoiled in shock. "Drake, please, it's not what you think," I touched his arm, but he jerked it away. "Please believe me—"

"Believe you – Roman was right, I shouldn't trust you," he said angrily.

"Roman's wrong, what he said is—"

"I didn't believe him when he told me, but it makes sense," he said, looking away.

"No – Drake," I pleaded, wanting to explain.

"Then how did you know about Zoe's Trag hideout? How did you know about the black ciper?" he asked before I could.

"From Sephen and Rayne," I said. "I—"

"Rayne – he is a Trag," Drake stated.

"No, he's not. He's one of my men," I said and by the hard glare in his eyes, I knew I'd said the wrong thing.

"No, he's one of Zoe's men – one of the Trags who've removed their markings – like you've done," Drake snarled. There was a banging on the door. "I have to go." He stormed off.

I sat down, crying.

I went to his room, found a hanger and used it to zip up my dress, then I pulled off his sheets to soak them.

I heard the door open, and thinking it was Drake, I went to go explain, but I saw a blonde woman enter with Miss Garcia and ducked back out of sight.

"Your old pod. Hopefully it hasn't changed much," Miss Garcia said.

Her pod – it's Drake's pod. Didn't she know that?

"It's a different world than it was eight years ago, Saroya. Relations between humans and Atrians are better – less hostile," Miss Garcia was saying, but the woman was not saying anything.

Sayora? Not_ the_ Sayora? The one that landed the ARDhet all by herself? Couldn't be.

"We even have an integration program now," Miss Garcia continued. "It is my hope that by releasing you, we can build on a growing trust between our people."

The woman simply looked around the pod, but said nothing.

"Well, I'll give you your privacy. I thought you'd want to change before the Dinaskyu feast," Miss Garcia said.

"Thank you," the woman replied.

But as soon as Miss Garcia left, the woman moved a stool, grabbed a hidden bag and ran out a circular window. I walked over to close the window, but I didn't see her anywhere. Was that Drake's mom? Was Drake the son of the co-pilot of the ARDhet?

I found soap and filled the sink and tried to wash out my blood the best I could. They would have to soak, so I pushed them into the sink. I sat down for a while, waiting, worried, but after a half hour, I left Drake's pod.

I walked around aimlessly, my mind in a turmoil and ran into Sophia and her mother. Sophia asked me, "What's wrong."

"Drake and I – we… he… it's all wrong," I said, trying not to cry.

Sophia pulled me aside. "What happened?"

"Drake and I – we…" I couldn't tell her we had made love – well, sex, I dunno. It was both, I think, really. "But he found out I'm – you know – and he got mad," I said. "We had a fight."

"I'm sure it will be all right," she said, trying to make me feel better. She really was a sweet girl and a good friend.

Sophia introduced me to her mother.

Her mother looked at me as if she recognized me. I greeted her formally as "Soksumiv ahdeeb, Honored wife of Nox, Teabour of the son of the leader of the Atrian people," mixing my Sondiv and English. "Roman's the next Iksen, right?"

Maia nodded. "He is to become our next Iksen," she replied, which confused me. Maybe Roman has to finish school first, before he ascends. How inconvenient.

Maia looked at my face carefully. "Do I know you…?" She started to ask, then smiled. "You look so much like your mother, Mahureen."

I look away, then at her. She was the Iksen's wife, a very powerful woman and I knew she would hold the welfare of the people first. "I am my mother's daughter," I said in formal Sondiv. "Iksen of the Tgorasad."

She nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry about your mother; my late husband knew her well," she said kindly.

Boy was that the truth. "Thank you," I replied.

"How many of you are there?" Maia asked.

"I wish, Honored Mother, that I could tell you how many and where we are, but it's too dangerous at this time, considering the hostility of the indigenous people of this planet. However, we are well and able to maintain ourselves reasonably if not frugally."

Maia nodded. "I understand, Iksen," she said softly.

"Thank you, Teabour, Soksumiv ahdeeb," I repeated in Sondiv.

I went to the feast area with Sophia and her mother. Maia introduced me to Borjmei, the Swamad Iksen and Aujheyn, the Vwasak Iksen, who I greeted politely, but in English. I wasn't ready to come out to them yet. Thankfully, Maia understood and only used my given name, not by my formal title, to which I was grateful. But I know that Ghianni, the Iwabas Iksen, recognized me, although she didn't say anything.

I sat next to Maia at the feast, a place of honor under other circumstances. I still felt honored to be at her table, though.

I saw Drake, sitting alone, but he looked at me and turned his head.

Then to my surprise, it was Castor who held up the Debour ahdeeb cup – the cup of the father of the people – not Roman as he made his welcome speech. He introduced the tribes, "To the Swamad, the backbone of our people." There was cheering and I turned my head to see where they sat. "To the Iwabas, numinous and enigmatic people of the rainforests; and to the Zwahan keepers of our proud traditions and practices," he said, eliciting more cheering from both groups. "The Vwasak, the nobel warriors," Castor said, then paused, his smile fading and his arms lowering when he saw the woman Miss Garcia was standing next to. Sayora. His demeanor changed, he faltered in his speech. Clearly this woman's appearance was unsettling the new Iksen.

Drake turned in his seat and recognition dawned in his face.

Sayora smiled, a look a of love and pride in her eyes.

Drake said, "Mom?" rising slowly to his feet.

She moved toward him, smiling with the love a mother has for her son. "Hadebou," she said, and they embraced. As everyone watched.

Roman turned to look at someone with an expression of someone who'd been played. Wasn't he happy?

A woman sitting next to Teri, who resembled her greatly, lifted her goblet to him. Vega. She had to be Vega. Shit. I turned hoping she didn't see me, but the woman was said to not miss much.

But everyone else was watching the mother-son reunion.


	9. Chapter 9

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 9 ("Some Consequence Yet Hanging in the Stars")

Drake was rather aloof in school the next day, following our argument in his pod. I'd hoped to speak to him, but he carefully avoided me in the hallway before class. He and Teri walked to homeroom together.

I did notice that Taylor was eyeing him all thorough English lit, and in chem, Drake didn't have his feet in the aisle. He also didn't look at me as I walked by, which was disappointing. So, I rationalized as I sat down that his feet in my way had been on purpose, a ploy to get me to talk to him, maybe. Apparently, he didn't want to talk to me anymore. I wondered how that would affect our being lab partners, but since today was lecture, I'd hold off and approach him later about it.

"From what I've heard he's hooking up with someone else," Lisa said in teasing way.

Already?

"Snooze you lose. From what I've heard, Taylor has her sights on him," she informed me.

"No," I replied, but I'd seen the way she looked at him and from some of her outfit choices, I'd have to say that Taylor was pulling out all the strings. Lisa just raised her eyebrows with a subtle shift of her head and turned her attention back to Mr. Jacobson as he started his lesson.

In Biology, we were reviewing the respiratory system for the upcoming quiz. "So if Atrians have two lung systems, does that mean they can hold their breaths for a really long time?" Taylor asked, turning to look at Drake. "Convenient and handy."

"It means that while underwater, their secondary lung system takes over, yes," Miss Benton said.

"So how long can you stay down under?" Taylor asked Drake pointedly, to which he responded, "All day if I wanted."

She looked rather pleased by his response, her eyebrows rose and her smile widened.

"Too bad humans drown," Teri stated.

"Miss Beecham, Teri, we're talking about general human – Atrian anatomy," Miss Benton admonished them. "Shall we continue, or are you ready to take your test now?"

Everyone, including Taylor, gave her our undivided attention. Well, everyone but Drake, who was eyeing Taylor speculatively. Damn. Oh well.

At lunch, Taylor started spreading word about a party at her house to see the upcoming meteor shower, and by the end of the day, quite a few people were talking about the party with their friends.

"It's a pool party," Loraine said as we walked to the cars.

"I know, which means we can't go," I said with a sigh. Drake might go, in fact I'm sure Taylor will do everything she can to entice him to attend her party, and he could swim because everyone already knew he was Atrian. Drake at a pool party in swim trunks and wet. I huffed silently, and wished I could go, just to see that. I so wanted to see him in trunks and fluorescing.

"Did you really want to?" Loraine asked.

I looked at her and shrugged. I knew that she did.

"So, we'll go to the houses and hang out in our pools," Justin said, before running off to catch up to Jason.

"That will be fun; lots of screaming kids and the old hens asking us about school… Are we still going to The Bug?" Loraine asked.

I nodded. "I'm caught up on all my assignments, I've already done all the questions in my chem book," I stated, considering that from chapter 12 onward (the last chapter I had completed before I was assigned to work with Drake), I only had to do the odd numbers. "And in Algebra, I've finished most of the equations up to chapter 29. So except for English reading and a quick review for Biology, I'm good." Evenings at the apartments were basically a huge revision party; everyone sat at the tables and coffee tables doing their homework after dinner, except on Tuesday, when we were expected to do an hour of cleaning in addition to our homework.

"And your Spanish test," Loraine pointed out.

"Soy bueno. Estoy listo para que uno también," I said, basically telling her I'm good.

"Show off," Loraine said, nudging me. "I'll be up late with Justin reviewing my vocabulary."

"I can go over it with you tonight," I offered.

However, I received a text before Spanish from Byron asking me to get some things he wanted from Ian after school and to meet him near a bar south on hwy 32. Ihmen sent me a text as well, with a little more detail about what I was picking up. I looked for Loraine before Algebra, but didn't see her on the way to class.

Sophia stopped by my seat and asked, "Are we going to The Bug?"

I shook my head as Roman sat at his desk, watching us. "I have an errand for my elders, something I need to pick up for them, but if that doesn't take too long, I can meet up with you afterwards," I said softly.

Sophia smiled. "All right," she said, sidestepping Roman as she went to her seat.

I caught up to Loraine at her locker after school. "I'm to meet Byron for a bit, and he may bring Sephen. I have some things they need, and Colton is sending some more seedlings to the Dævas healers to see if they recognized them."

"If not they'll be given to the biochemists again," Loraine said. "I wonder why Vega's Iwabas are cultivating plants outside the Sector?"

"I'm more concerned with the fact that they're doing it – and _why_ they're doing it," I said. "Thing is, it's in our favor. The Dævas healers say some of the plants were unknown to them. But if they _are_ from the Sector, how is Zoeda getting them? And even stranger, Zoeda is also collecting indigenous plants; why? again, we don't know."

"Could she be moving them from another location that you don't know about?"

I nodded, considering that. "That's a real possibility," I said. "Some of them are poisonous or allergenic, but not necessarily to dangerous to us – ciper protects us from most of the pollen-allergens, and cures us when we digest a poisonous plant if we get treatment in time. It's one of the reasons we carry ciper in our herb kits. And most all the poisonous indigenous plants are known to humans, there is information on them on the internet."

"Could she be trying to cross the Iwabas plants with the indigenous ones – creating hybrids?" Loraine asked.

"I hadn't considered that, but that's a real possibility, too," I said. "I'll ask Byron and Sephen."

"Good, then I'll see you later on tonight," Loraine said and waved as she strode off.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I drove Ian's van and met up with Byron and Sephen in a parking lot between a Mexican eatery and a hardware store. I got out of the van after I checked to see if the coast was clear and went to look for the guys. I walked casually through the Mexican eatery and exited out the back. Mexican food is one of the types we tend to avoid – cilantro is in almost everything and I don't do well with tomatoes. Plus, they don't serve any drinks I can have: coke, tea, beer and margaritas. I'm not big on 7up, usually, or the frothy fruit one they have made from a cactus. I do like horchata on occasion. If the elders found out I drank a beer or a margarita, well, they wouldn't like it much.

I saw them sitting in Sephen's truck and walked toward them. "If you pull up to the side of Ian's van, you can just put the seedlings in the back and then drive off."

"No, we're exchanging cars," Sephen said, surprising me. "Here is the spare key. I'm taking the van, and you're driving the truck back. Drop it off at the automotive shop, and Daniel will get it back to me."

"I can't drive your truck," I said as I handed him a small package Ihmen gave me. I hated his truck, it had a shell on it that made it difficult to see around, let alone back up. Not that the van was any better, but it had more windows.

"Don't argue, it's the easiest way," Sephen stated as he took the parcel. "Daniel will drive you to get your car after work."

"I'm meeting friends at The Bug," I said and immediately regretted it when he scowled.

"This is more important than socializing over hamburgers," Sephen said as he checked the contents of the package I gave him.

"I can drop off the truck to Daniel and walk to The Bug," I said. "or Loraine can take me to get my car, and we'll go afterwards."

Sephen nodded.

"Don't be concerned about him – he's out of humika juice," Byron stated, getting a scowl from his brother. "Oh, lighten up." He turned to me. "Is the stuff we wanted in there," he said indicating the back of the van.

"Of course. There are three huge boxes in the van," I said as Stephen peered in the windows. I wondered what was bothering him and what were they doing that had him so tense. I turned to Byron. "Ian said to be careful." If Ian was worried about what they were up to, so was I. "Please, you'll be careful, right?"

"I'll be careful," Byron said as he ruffled my hair, something I hate when he does that. "Don't be such a worry wurt."

"I miss you," I said, hugging him lightly. He hugged me back. "I worry about you."

"Shhh, don't worry, we're good," Byron said. I looked up at him as he let go. "Now, go on."

Sephen hugged me too, despite his grumpiness. "You be careful," I told him.

"I will."

I smiled as I got in the truck and put it in reverse. When I turned to put the truck in drive, they were both gone – possible into the Mexican restaurant. I drove to my guardian father's automotive shop for hybrid and electric cars, and handed the keys to Baxton, one of the Atrian technicians that works in the shop as a mechanic.

"Everything okay?" he asked. Pocketing the keys.

"Everything is fine. They looked good, even though Sephen was a bit out of sorts," I replied. "Tell Daniel I'll pick up my car tonight."

"Will do," he said and returned to work.

In The Bug, the teen hang out, I noticed right away that Sophia had gotten a new hair style. It looked really good on her, much more flattering and that she was also wearing makeup. I figured she was simply trying something new. Besides the new haircut looked adorable on her.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day in school, I noticed that Sophia was wearing her new makeup quite a bit darker, edgier than the day before. She also had on a long mesh tank over another skimpy black tank, black skinny jeans and a pair of platform boots inspired by classic motorcycle style. Not her usual style of dress. Something I'd expect Teri to wear – not Sophia, and I wondered what was bringing on the change. But other than the way she was dressed, Sophia was still the same sweet girl, so I figured it was just a phase, trying something new.

She was not the only one with a new look.

Taylor had dressed to be noticed, or to kill as humans say. She was wearing a chartreuse top and heels with a very snug black mini, showing off a bit of skin around her middle – not too risqué to be sent home to change, but definitely pushing the edge of the dress code. She was the perfect embodiment of sexual kitten and queen bee of school, dressed to impress and turn heads. And she was, nearly every male did notice, including my two moron cousins. "Hey, Earth guys," I said, snapping my fingers next to Jason's face as Loraine nudged Justin.

"If a girl dresses like that, she's asking to be noticed," Jason stated, watching Taylor walk by.

"She's human, dude," Justin said.

"That didn't stop you from drooling, now did it?" Loraine said and snapped her fingers at him again.

"What?" Justin asked. "She's a nice view coming and going."

"Especially going," Jason said with a smirk. Loraine and I rolled our eyes and walked away. "You've a nice caboose too, you know," Jason said, catching up to us.

"Nice that you noticed," Loraine said. "But you're just saying that because I've the car keys and you don't want to walk home after school."

"No, in case you haven't noticed, Brock has been eyeing you," Jason pointed out.

Loraine chuffed a laugh and kept walking. "Not going to happen, he's human. Besides, if all goes well, we'll leave this rock in a year or two."

I wasn't sure about that, it could take longer, if the Trags kept causing trouble.

The rest of the day went much as the day before. In chem we had a short quiz and were told to finish our chapter assignments. I pulled mine out and turned to Drake, hoping this went well. "Odd or even?" I asked and not surprising he said even. At least we were still lab partners as far as I knew. "Shoot them over to me when you're done," I said.

He leaned forward. "About that."

I looked at him expectantly, waiting to hear that he didn't want to partner any more. But he sat back and said, "Never mind."

Confusing as heck, but there was nothing for it. If he was okay with it, so was I. Besides he was the second best in class and a very good lab partner.

During lunch, I saw Roman and Emery at the food line, talking, and hoped that whatever it was it wasn't as serious as their faces indicated.

I looked around. Drake was not in the lunch room. I looked about, neither was Taylor, and I here thought that she was still promoting her party. Sighing, I joined my cousins and Sophia at our usual table.

After school, Justin and I were waiting for Loraine and Jason to come out, and a few of the girls in our year eyed him as they walked by. Justin noticed, as guys do, smiling at them. "You male flirt, you," I teased him.

"All that work in the gym is starting to pay off," he said.

"I see," I replied. "And what does your Zæsak trainers have to say about it?"

Justin looked smug. "As long as I do my 5K every morning, and 48 laps in the pool, he doesn't mind."

"Even if you're bulking up?" I asked. He was, and it was starting to show, a little. Here and there.

He flexed his bicep, and I tried not to laugh as another pair of girls eyed him. "Oh, so impressive."

I saw Drake exit the school and stood there, either waiting for someone or pausing, I didn't care. He looked so good in his black tank, black and grey hoodie, black jeans and boots. And the neckline of the tank allowed for a nice view of his markings on the left side of his neck and upper chest.

"Still have it bad for the Vwasak warrior?" Justin asked.

"It wasn't meant to be," I sighed, although I knew Drake wasn't talking to me anymore, but I couldn't help myself – my eyes followed him as he walked toward us.

"Mahureen, he's seeing someone else," he said.

I know he was trying to be helpful but that stabbed me in the heart. "What do you mean?"

"He's hooked up with the Queen bee of the school – Taylor," Justin stated. "They are trying to keep it all under wraps, but she's pretty lousy at being discreet. You know how she flirts with him."

Yeah I knew, and I had hoped Drake wouldn't fall for her, but then she is gorgeous.

"I heard them, she said that they never agreed to be exclusive," Justin said, apparently taking my silence as a need to have more information. Not that this bit helped any. "Not exclusive, as in they are doing it, but still dating other people."

I didn't think Drake was that type. It saddened me that I miss judged him.

"I did hear him say that there wasn't anyone else," he added.

That hurt. He was with her.

As Drake got closer to us, I tried to keep my focus on Justin, and asked him how it was going in Spanish.

"Está yendo bien, pero usted sabe que," he said, although I was actually watching Drake from the corner of my eye.

"He oído que es un elefante."

"He's a what – an elephant?" I asked catching his remark.

"I wasn't sure you were paying attention," Justin said.

I let it go. I wanted to know more about this supposed fling with Taylor and how serious it might be. "Where did you hear this?"

"Hear what?" he asked.

"About Drake and Taylor," I said. Maybe he was wrong; it could just be a rumor.

"In the locker room," Justin said and then lowered his voice. "I mean its rude to interrupt and all, so we left them alone to get at it, but really, not a cool place if you don't want an audience."

Okay, that just made it worse. Thanks Justin. I'll just go home and cry now.

"He's not going to her party if that's any consolation – he has something to do in the Sector," Justin said as I slyly watched Drake walk to his bus.

"He got defensive when she asked him to tell her about his life, well, that he never lets her in – it sounded like they are together."

Grayson approached Drake about something that he did. I'm not sure what Grayson said, but Drake obviously got offended by it. "You were black out drunk," Drake said, pointing at Grayson's chest, "then you tried to drive off in Zoe's car. Roman and I stopped you, and believe me it wasn't fun dragging your drunk ass home." Drake turned to leave.

But that's not what happened at all. Was it? They were out on the levy.

"Why would you go out of your way to help me," Grayson said, chasing after Drake a few steps, and Drake turned back to face him.

"Call it returning a favor; you stopping the Red Hawks from feeding me to the alligators," Drake snapped.

What? When?

"Then where did you and Zoe go the night of the party?" Grayson asked accusingly.

"How should I know. After she got her car back, that was the last time I saw her," Drake stated. The driver of the bus honked his horn, and Drake turned to look, then turned back to Grayson. "The way I see it, you should be thanking me, cuz if it weren't for us, you'd be in a lot more trouble right now." And he walked away.

But Grayson didn't look convinced as Drake boarded the bus.

"That was intense," I said as Loraine approached.

"What did I miss?" she asked.

"More Drake drama," Justin said with a laugh.

"And all lies, well, half-truths and lies," I replied.

"What was?" Loraine asked.

"I'll tell you later," I said, turning to my cousins. "Where's Jason?"

"Oh, he's going to get his own way home," Loraine said.

~~~~~o~~~~~

That night I went to see Emery. Julia was there, which was fine. I like Julia. We went up to Emery's room to talk.

"I know you have questions, so I'll be frank, but please, if I say I can't tell you something, it's not that I don't trust you, it's because I – I have to protect the people I serve as their Iksen," I said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Their safety and welfare have to be my top priority – always."

"Like what?" Emery asked sitting crossed-legged in the middle of the bed.

"Numbers, don't ask me how many," I said, hoping she wouldn't.

"Which is one of the things I do want to know," Emery stated.

Damn. I put my hand on my forehead. "Naturally. Let's just say that… I'm guessing half. I've no idea how many of my people are in the Sector?"

"That's easy, my father told me; over 1,600 of the original survivors. 1,690 I think. I could ask my dad," Emery said, holding a throw pillow on her lap. "I don't know how many are in the crates."

"The crates: the prison – inside the prison," I said with a sigh. "Sorry, but in a way I feel sorry for them." My scouts had not given me the updated report I asked for on the numbers of survivors on the outside. For all I knew there were 1,100 - 1,125 people out there, but until they finished their survey I didn't have any current numbers. "There are over a thousand of us outside, all under my protection. No one can know that, but I would like to know the count in the Sector. I know that's duplicitous and not fair. But I was once told that out of the 5,689 onboard the ARDhet, only 3,100 survived, although I don't really believe that many did. If there were, then can't account for all of them and it does make me worried at times."

"So you can't account for 310 of them," Julia said and I shook my head. "That means, 2,589 people died?"

I shook my head. "I had been told that approximately 3,184 persons survived the crash, but that count was taken a year after – so it's estimated that, yes, 2,500 died." Happy arrival day. "Many were killed in the hunts as well as in the war, and there were the bumps, some skin condition that we got. Chicken pox…? We eventually had enough ciper to treat everyone, but that was rough. And alligators. I lost people to alligators."

"How many of your people are Trags?" Emery asked.

"Of my people? None. I do have a few of my Zæsak scouts posing as Trags, infiltrating them – this so called Trag army, but so far, my men are telling me that there aren't as many as Roman may have been led to believe. Mostly… Emery, the Trags are causing too much trouble for me and my people. They keep stirring up the animosity between humans and Atrians. Nox's dream of integration and mutual cooperation is failing because of them."

"So you're for integration?" Julia said.

I wasn't ready to tell them that I wanted to find a planet and leave, not yet. "Yes, it's what's best for my people – getting along, a mutual understanding and cooperation."

"Who are your people, exactly?" Julia asked.

"I brought this," I pulled out a hexagonal box with hologram plates and buttons. "I thought you might like to see my planet, so you'd understand better." I set it on the table and activated the box. A hologram of my planet floated up in the air. Boy I missed home, but our sun is failing. Our sun is beginning to expand. A sun swells dramatically before dying to its white dwarf stage; as the core runs out of hydrogen and then helium, the core will contact and the outer layers expand, cool, and become less bright, and that flare will destroy all life on the planet. So we set out to find another home world before it does.

"When I talk about the northern tribes I mean here, this long expanse of islands, and these two continents here. These were the lands of the Torgasad: Zæsak originated on this smaller continent and along these islands." I indicated to the lands west of the isthmus with a long thin chopstick. "Eventually they moved into these areas along the base of the mountains to the coasts on the larger one here," I said, pointing to the south-western part of the Great North Ranges. "They were sea faring warriors. Dævas lived on what we called the plains: mostly in the fertile areas along the rivers, deltas and lakes of this side of the east side of the continent. Sævad, we lived here, in the mountain ranges. The Cæveh, originated here along the straight Sea, and in the canyons and gorges." I pointed them out with the chopstick.

"The Itrejivil were on the continents below the Straight Sea. Vwasak, here on the south of the Great Sea." I pointed out the Zwahan, Iwabas and Swamad areas too. "Needless to say, millions of years ago, we were separate tribes, much like your individual countries. But as populations increased and people migrated and expanded, there was the occasional war over territory, followed by treaties and well, we took a while to sort things out. My Sævad and the Cæveh got on pretty well, but the Vwasak and the Cæveh, not so much. But we'll save that history lesson for another day."

"So your people are these…" Julia said, trying to say the names of my tribes and she was able to say them properly, "Zæsak, Dævas, Sævad and Cæveh?"

"Yes." We used the ancient language of the Cæveh for many of our locations and land areas.

"And Roman's tribes are the Zwahan, Vwasak, Iwabas and Swamad?" Emery asked.

I nodded. "Roman and Sophia are Zwahan, the ruling tribe. Teri is Iwabas, the mystics of the rainforests, and Drake is Vwasak what they call the northern warrior tribe. I'm not sure what tribes Lynne, Durren or Corbin are from."

"So the people on the outside are all Torgasaid?" Julia asked.

"Tgorasad," I corrected kindly. "No, most of them are, but not all. Aboard the ARDhet most of my people were in the Quaff side of the Gaintail. At least that's how I think it would be translated into English. Porting side and Quaff… the permanent crew – usually have drinks on the opposite side of the ship while the passengers disembark on port side." I shrugged it off. No point teaching them our words for it. "Sævad and Cæveh were on B and C levels, Dævas on D levels. Our Zæsak were separated on B and D mid ship with the crew engineers, technicians and security. On the Gaintail Porting side were the Iwabas, Swamad – they had different drop ship assignments, and the Vwasak were on the Porting side with the rest of the crew engineers, technicians and service crews. The Zwahan were mostly in the forward sections. Many of the drop ships from our side of the ARDhet landed on the west side of Baton Rouge, well, in the Iberville Parish – St. Martin areas."

"I'd really like to see where you live," Julia said.

I looked down at my thumbs. "My – I can't. The other Iksen are against it." I looked up at her. "It's not just me. I'd love to have friends over, but there are all the others to consider. I don't live alone, obviously. I live in an apartment where everyone is Atrian, and my apartment unit is a two bedroom and there are five of us sharing it; Loraine and I in one room, Tory, Catlin and Morin in the larger room." Although as often as Jason, Justin, Travis and Tyson were over, you'd think they lived in our unit as well. "We have another apartment and houses where the units have either two or more families in them or a blended family. Maybe someday, when I can convenience them you are trustworthy and keep our secrets, I can take you to the houses. But for now, they are frightened of humans, especially the ones with children."

~~~~~o~~~~~

Emery and I entered the corridor the next morning, talking about the change in Sophia. "It's nothing all that drastic, but she's… edgier than she used to be."

"I've noticed a difference too, she's… I can't put my finger on it," I said. "Hey, have you seen much of Lukas lately? You two are friends, right?"

"Yes, best friends," Emery stated. "But he's been acting weird, too. Doing some project that consumes all his time."

"Odd," I said. "What aren't you telling me?" Was Lukas all right? I pulled her aside. "You said that Roman cured him, right?"

She nodded. "Yes, he did."

"Fully?" I asked. If he'd used red cipher after the black cipher had cured Lukas' lungs, then he'd be fine. But then Roman would know that, right? "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Even the doctors gave him a clean bill of health, although they were surprised, claiming that the last treatment the night before must have done the trick," she replied, and I felt relieved.

Emery and I turned the corner and she smiled, seeing Roman by his locker. "Go, I have to get something from my locker," I said, and she walked up to Roman. "Roman, what happened?" I heard her ask.

"Not every day you get attacked by your best friend's mom," I heard him say.

Emery looked shocked and saddened by the news. "Roman I'm so sorry, I had no idea—"

"No," he said and lowered his voice. "You were right, I needed to get her side of the story."

"So I was right, Castor is dangerous," I overheard Emery say.

"That's what I thought," he replied. "But then there was something she said – she was the one who left the mirszan for my father to find, before she found out he was dead."

"But why would she do that?" Emery asked.

"To show him what really happened the night our ship crashed," Roman replied.

"So she wasn't the one disobeying orders," Emery stated.

"Exactly," he said.

"So what now?" Emery asked but as I walked up to them, Roman stiffened.

"I need to talk to the Hwatab, council of tribal elders, tell them what I've seen," he said. "What do you want?" he asked me.

"Roman, I'm – I know a little about Castor and the ARDhet mirszan," I said.

"And why should I listen to you?" he asked, clearly affronted.

But Emery spoke up, "Roman, you should, she was there too."

"She was six," he stated.

"Almost six," I replied. "But I too have a Hwatab and a council of elders, and they have told me things about Castor that I think you should know."

"I'm listening," he said defensively.

"He is Trag," I stated, but he didn't seem surprised.

"Was Trag," Roman stated.

I nodded. "He was one of the leaders of the dissent aboard the ship – that led to the munity on board. At Dinaskyu, I was shocked to see he'd been made Iksen instead of you. He's always craved the position, or that's what I've been told."

He crossed his arms. "But do you have any proof?"

I shook my head. "Only their warnings of the elders to avoid him. They were very concerned that I was attending Dinaskyu, they feared I'd be recognized."

"Were you?" he asked.

"Yes, by your mother and by Ghianni – the Iwabas Iksen," I admitted. "Borjmei, the Swamad Iksen, and Aujheyn, the Vwasak Iksen, did not."

Roman looked surprised. "My mother recognized you?"

"Yes, but then she and Meheka have a, well I'd call it a understanding rather than a friendship, but they respect each other. My Sævad Iksen and Meheka both agreed with your father, and his policies and joined him in this adventure. We do not know what happened to our Sævad Iksen the night of the crash, but Patrik who is acting as interim Sævad Iksen knows your parents and respects them as well. We were all sad about your father's death."

"Adventure?" he asked after a pause.

"I meant, the colonizing of a new home – that adventure. This is – landing here – was mistake. Now we have to make the best of things," I said. "Roman, for some reason, Edlund, Veda, Jasper, Caster and Uhstra spread dissent among the people on board the ARDhet, which led a revolt that turned into the munity."

"Do you have proof?" he asked.

"Only the word of my elders and other the Iksen," I stated. Usually that was good enough "Many of the adults discussed the crash and why it happened at great lengths, and I was allowed to listen. As I got older, it was all repeated to me so I'd understand. All I'm saying is to be careful when dealing with Castor."

"I don't think you should be doing this alone, especially since you don't know who you can trust," Emery said.

"I still have to bring this before the Hwatab, it's the only way I can tell who's really telling the truth," Roman stated.

I backed off. "Be careful, Castor can be dangerous when crossed," I said before leaving. I doubted that he'd listen to me, but I tried. Emery would believe me, maybe she'd convince him.

~~~~~o~~~~~

That night on the phone, I tried to get Emery to understand what had happened on board the ARDhet. "Emery, please tell Roman to be careful around Castor," I said, hoping she'd get through to him.

"Why?" she asked.

"He's not how he seems," I replied.

"You know this about him?" she asked.

"Like I told Roman at school, my elders and my Iksen do; a lot of the techs and engineers who escaped capture and are living with us – they do. They tell me he's not to be trusted." I hoped she believed me. "Roman can't be rash or careless around Castor – Castor is cunning and connected, and has been playing this game a lot longer than Roman, and Roman needs to be smart and savvy when dealing with him."

"I'll try to convince him," she said.

I hung up and I went to Taylor's party, not that I particularly wanted to, but Loraine did, and so Justin and Jason and I indulged her. I knew that all the Atrian seven were invited, but I only saw three, Sophia, Lynne and Corben. We naturally stayed out of the pool.

I saw Taylor and Sophia have a girl moment in the jacuzzi, but I think Sophia kissing her took Taylor by surprise.

Drake and Roman never showed up.

We left early when things were winding down and people were getting drunk.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I went to the houses to see Ihmen and found her sitting outside with Byron, both of them with their feet in one of the pools. I kicked off my shoes and pants, and sat next to them in my bathing suit and top. It was a lovely night out, what I could see of it through the trees. Ihmen had drawn back the canopy that usually sheltered her section of the park area between the houses. I looked up. The meteor shower had just started.

"NASA is launched the third Kepler II space observatory and it will survey a portion of the Milky Way near the constellation of Vela," she stated.

"Two down," I said, lifting a foot to let the water drip off my toes. "Nice to know."

"What has you bothered?" she asked me.

"Nothing," I said, not wanting to tell her in front of Byron. "What of the planet known as HD 40307g in the constellation Pictor?"

"Working on that one," she said, thankfully getting the hint. We've known each other too long and too well, but I know she'll ask me again later.

"And the one they call Kepler-22b in the constellation Cygnus?" I asked.

"Its star system is about 600 light-years away, that will take some time," Byron stated. "Human technology is far behind ours and to move too quickly will arouse suspicions."

"They've had the technology for years now," I said, wishing things could move faster.

"Patience, they are just now putting it all together," Ihmen said. "Not only do these new Kepler II's have our processing technology and instrumentation, it is fueled by our battery system and has our propulsion drives as well. NASA is excited about the prospects of what the device can do."

"And that they can control it's movements," Byron stated. "But they don't want too many out there at the same time."

I knew that but it was still annoying. "Maybe we could tap Russia, somehow share the Kepler II system with them – they have a active space program," I suggested.

Ihmen sighed deeply and looked up at the stars.

"You miss Kerhone, don't you?" I asked. We'd sent Kerhone, aka Chris Weaver, to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. It wasn't so hard falsifying Kerhone's identity as this Chris Weaver, using a death certificate of a child who'd died and would have been approximately the right age as Kerhone. He did so well in university that he had been accepted into the Lead Institution for the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in aerospace engineering. Not bad for an Atrian aerospace engineer. The trick was getting him into JPL. They were not hiring at the time of his graduation, so we had to sweeten the deal by having him 'invent' some Atrian technology and present it as well. That they wanted, and it opened the door for another of our engineers, going by the name of Carl Miller, a magna cum laude graduate of _Louisiana_ State _University in_ Mechanical Engineering to join the team.

Apparently graduating magna cum laude, which is a Latin phrase meaning "with great honor," opens quite a few doors. So now the current seven going through various universities are striving for the 'honor', not that it's that hard for them. We had the best and brightest selected to go with us on the ARDhet.

"Yeah, I do. When this is all over, I'm going to announce him as my Chosen," Ihmen said.

I wasn't the least bit surprised. "Let's hope then that when we reveal ourselves to the humans, and divulge exactly how much we've contributed to their lives, that things don't go sour and bottom up."

"Go sour and bottom up?" she asked, looking at me.

"She's been around humans too long," Byron said.

"Mahureen," Meheka called.

"Time to go in," I said, climbing to my feet.

"Collier called," Ihmen said.

"Okay," I replied. "Anything I should know?"

"He's agreed to help us slip two of the Swamad families into the Sector."

Jeff Collier was an alley of sorts. We saved his daughter with ciper years ago. Jeff Collier's brother, Aaron, was working with one of our scientists, Kenton Miller (another with a false background) at the SETI Institute technologies and research development and communications technologies, improving the range of the Allen Telescope Array. The Array is series of radio interferometer system that is dedicated to astronomical research and a simultaneous search for signals of intelligent, extraterrestrial origin and to create precise measurements of distant celestial objects.

Aaron Collier's niece, Casey, was playing at her uncle's when she had an accident that almost killed her. Kenton saved her life, but in doing so, he exposed himself as being Atrian. However, instead of turning him in, Aaron Collier quickly realized that Kenton had been integrating Atrian technology and instrumentation into the project, to expand the range and scope of the telescopes thus making the Array more scientific relevant. He kept our secret – well except that Casey told her father about the 'shiny blue blood' the man gave her.

Jeff Collier is an SEU guard, and Kenton told us the moment he knew Casey told her father about the use of ciper.

Ihmen and I had gone to see Jeff at home and explained, pleaded with him to keep our secret about ciper:

"_It_'_s in her blood now_, _it will protect her from small injuries and cuts_, _but_ – _if it infuses in her DNA_, _and word got out…_" _I said_, _hoping_ _to make him understand_. _But Ihmen put a hand on my arm_.

"_There is a lot of interest in ciper among the pharmaceutical companies_," _Ihmen said_ _calmly with her assured demeanor that I was still learning to master_. (I'll never be as good as she is though.) _She was jaw-dropping gorgeous_, _stop a guy in his tracks with a glance type and had this natural grace about her_. _Every move she made was fluid and smooth_. "_They will take your child and run tests on her to find out how cipher works_."

"_How does it work_?" _he_'_d asked_.

"_Not all humans are compatible to ciper, most of the time it does nothing_," _Ihmen explained_. "_Your daughter was one of the lucky few – very few – that matched_."

Looking back, it was a very risky move, but it worked out. We had to confess our plan of finding another home, another planet to go to, and he accepted that we were not taking over his world but contributing to humans in order to meet our goals. Of course it helped that Arron Collier was ranting about all the advantages Kenton brought to the project and how it saved his career from being put on hiatus due to budget downfalls because the Array was better than ever. From that moment on, we had an alley in the SEU. Not that he'd bend the rules, but he occasionally called with reports of things he thought serious enough. He hadn't been on duty the night of the explosion though.

"Oh and I thought you should know, Castor exposed Roman's secret affair with Emery Whitehill, the daughter of Nox's murderer. He threw in the question about whether Roman is truly dedicated to his people, and if being part of the human world has changed his interests," Ihmen said and I gaped at her in shock.

"What?"

Byron nodded. "Yep, he sent a copy of the transmission. You need to see it for yourself."

Crap.


	10. Chapter 10

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 10 ("What Storm is This That Blows So Contrary")

I was walking to my locker before school started when Byron suddenly jumped out, startling me, and pulled me aside roughly. If this was his way of not attracting attention, he was off his rocker.

"What the…" I hissed as I realized that he was dragging me into a men's bathroom, disregarding the bright yellow plastic janitor's sign with the words 'Do Not Enter' on it in bold black letters.

"Let go of me," I said, yanking my arm free as the door closed.

He turned and put something on the door to jam it closed, then turned to face me. I'd never seem him act this way and it was frightening me. "Watch your back around Teri," Byron told me his tone firm.

"Why?" I asked. He was acting so strange. Byron hasn't spoken to me in public or allowed himself to be seen with me in school since he joined the Trags. Furthermore, he reported strictly to Ian now, only contacting me if necessary and in the most clandestine ways possible, and the few times we have meet, Byron's directions were so complex it made me feel like an agent in Mission Impossible. Like that Mexican restaurant for example. Years of reading spy novels, I'm afraid. And adventure movies. So his behavior this morning was really odd, almost scary.

"Just do it, Mahureen," he said in a warning tone.

"I'll need more than that," I said, but I took a step back from him.

"Don't be stubborn," he said, remaining where he was.

"I'm not. I'm late for class, and you're telling me to be careful of a girl who hasn't done anything to me – in fact, she doesn't even talk to me."

"I overheard Teri talking to three men who do not attend school here," he stated.

"Men," I said, wondering what he was on about. "Can you be more specific? Tell me or I'm leaving."

"In their twenty's. One dark skinned, one a bald Caucasian with upper lip fuzz, but I know the third: Larry, one of the Iwabas tribe recruits that I've seen before around the Trag house. Larry keeps to himself, mostly, sharpening his knives. The others are new, I think, or stationed elsewhere. All of them are bleached. They left when Roman spotted them."

I cocked my head slightly, not getting the implication. Normally I'm not this dense, but so far he wasn't giving me enough to piece together. "Teri talking to Trags isn't news – her mother is supposedly leader of the Trags." But why warn me about two new Trag recruits that don't attend school? "Look, Loraine told me she saw Roman approach Teri this morning and asked her what she was planning – if it had anything to do with Emery. She said Teri brushed him off but when she started to walk away from him, he grabbed her arm but she shrugged him off. She didn't say anything about Teri taking to strange men. What's was going on?"

"The guys turned and walked off as soon as Roman spotted them. She was speaking to them in Sonidv, which caught Roman's attention. I did hear her say she'd handle the job inside and that they had until sunset to do it. But the bald one I don't know confronted me and snidely told me to run off to class, so I couldn't hear what was said between Roman and Teri," Byron explained. "However, Larry, the one from the Trag house told me to be on watch and that she may need my help with Drake and Roman."

"Drake and Roman – help doing what?" I asked, suddenly wondering if maybe Teri had to do something to Drake. The punishments for desertion or ratting them out was death, or so Sephen told me, and once a Trag – well, Vega took their oaths to mean for life.

"He didn't say, only that I was to be on hand to help her if she needed it," he said.

"But what did Teri tell the men to do?"

"That's being handled, Mahureen," Byron said but I shot him an incredulous glare. "To be ready. As soon as the school lockdown is over, take the stuff to the Sector. I don't know what the stuff is."

"Oh shit – schoollock down? A bomb threat of some kind?" I said, trying to think what would cause a school lock down. "I'll call Ian."

"I already did," Byron stated as I pulled my phone out of my pocket.

"I'll keep an eye on Teri," I said, putting my phone back.

"No, that's my job; you're to stay away from her," he said and left the bathroom. I followed him out, getting a few odd stares that I had to brush off as I walked to my locker.

I saw Teri putting things away in her locker as I approached mine, but she turned away, looking down the corridor. I did too and spotted Roman approaching. He stopped; apparently whatever was said between them before wasn't over, from the look on Roman's face, he wasn't finished talking to her. Teri gave him a knowing smile – a 'I know something you don't' type.

Just then Emery arrived and stopped, but Roman's attention was on Teri. "Hey," Emery said. But Roman didn't respond right away so Emery shrugged and walked away before Roman turned to answer her. But instead of walking up to Teri, Roman made a quick glance at Teri, then followed Emery.

The look on Teri's face spoke volumes, jealousy and then disappointment. She didn't like the relationship between Roman and Emery.

She glared at me as she walked by. Not surprising.

In English lit, Drake glared at me as I stood murmuring the words of the pledge of allegiance. Yes, I'm was a hypocrite, faking a pledge I didn't mean, but it's part of the cover. I looked at Loraine, who was doing the same, then looked at Drake again. His expression changed to a look of comprehension, and I realized I had just given away Loraine's secret as well.

I lowered my head as I sat down and considered the ramifications. If he realized that Loraine was Tgorasad, then it wouldn't take him long to realize that Jason and Justin were, too. Thankfully, with Byron keeping his distance, he was safe, unless Drake remembered that he used to sit with us as well.

And he's angry at me because he thinks I deceived him. He thinks I'm a Trag who's spying on him. Grrrrreat.

Of course, Sophia knew all of us were Tgorasad. I glanced at Sophia. She turned to look at me, and I gaped in shock. Make-up – a full on dark, smoky-eye smoldering look and dark berry colored lipstick, but on her it stood out because it was so different from her normal look. New hair cut, new edgy look to her clothes and now this goth-ish look?

In chem, we had to lab. I approached the worktable not knowing how to act around Drake. "Should I get the equipment we need?" I asked. The assignment was NH3 production from ammonia, then to experiment with the solubility of ammonia in water.

"Sure," he said.

I collected bin of equipment we needed for the two experiments as Drake had left to get the concentrated ammonium hydroxide solution for the first experiment and a bottle of HCl(aq) for the second.

We worked in silence, both doing the experiment side by side. Drake let me place my syringe in beaker of hot water first. I checked the temp – it was a perfect 65oC.

As the gas generation started to fill up my syringe, I removed the latex syringe cap while keeping it directed upwards. I slowly rotated the syringe 180o in order to control the reaction of the mixture in the syringe, careful to not let the liquid will spray out. Around the room, others who were at the same stage had trouble and a few of them their liquid vigorously shot out of the syringe.

Beside me, Drake had started to do his rotation of his syringe.

I recapped my syringe and carried it to the water basin on Mr. Jacobson's demonstration table. "Excellent, Maureen," said as I squirted the liquid out at close range above the surface of the large basin of water. "Go do the next one." As I turned, I saw Drake in line.

We did the next three experiments, but as I had already done these with David Kraft at the houses in my chemistry lessons, I knew what to expect. It might be cheating, but I had the observations already written out on my i-Tablet. Naturally our results were the same, but I did smile at Drake's reaction to the second phase as the plunger of his syringe rapidly pulled inward a little faster than he'd expected.

So, you're okay staying as lab partners? I wanted to ask Drake as we cleaned up, but for some reason I could tell that he didn't want to talk about it. If he was all right with it, so was I, and I could almost sense that in time, things might work out, but for now, if I didn't push him, he was okay with the way things were.

On my way to nutrition break, I saw Julia leaning against the wall watching a video on her phone. I was about to ask her what she was looking at when she showed me the phone. "Secret's out," she said.

It was a clip of the video sent to us from Collier of Roman kissing Emery. "How?" I asked.

"One of the Sector guards got a copy and posted it online – it went viral," she said, pushing off the wall.

"Great?" I hoped it wasn't Collier.

As I followed Julia to the store room, I asked, "Should we? I mean…"

"Might as well, it's all over school," Julia stated. She knocked and opened the door. I walked in after her.

Roman and Emery looked embarrassed, then relieved it was us – well, Emery did. Roman's eyes narrowed when he saw me. "Hey guys," Julia said casually. "You can come out now. Everybody knows."

When the four of us walked into the cafeteria at break, it was true, a lot of people were watching the video on their phones. Grrrreat. Roman and Emery got quite a few odd looks and a few sneers. Atrian-human mixing: no one was ready to this to happen – nor wanted it to. The Red Hawks were going to be up in arms over the video.

Julia told Roman and Emery what she said to me about the SEU guards downloading the video.

"Hey Roman, what are you having for lunch?" a boy named Kyle asked. "I hear Grayson's sloppy seconds are on the menu."

Roman stepped forward to confront him, to defend Emery's honor, but she grabbed his arm and said, "Don't."

Sydney, a black boy in our year said, "Humans, Atrians… I suppose you'll get down with anyone or anything, won't you?" to Emery. Roman look livid.

Then surprisingly, Taylor stepped in between them. "And yet you can't seem to get with a girl of any species, can you?"

Sydney looked angry for a second, then Kyle tried to laugh it off, and he and Sydney walked away.

Taylor turned to Emery and Roman. "Don't listen to those Neanderthals, I think what you're doing is really brave." She looked over Emery's shoulder, and I turned my head, seeing Drake standing there. I know he'd heard everything.

He made a small smile and walked away.

"I'm usually the pacemaker. I'm glad your paving the way this time," Taylor stated.

"Thanks, Taylor," Emery said.

"I'll see you guys later," Julia said, and I walked off with her.

After nutrition break I went to my locker, and I saw Drake standing at his. I was tempted to go talk to him, to try and sort things out. But I saw Grayson walk up to Drake. Whatever Grayson said, Drake turned around to face Grayson, angrily saying, "I'm not your bitch."

I froze, leaning on the edge of my locker, looking at my phone, recording it, so I could see them clearly reflected on the screen and from the corner of my eye.

Grayson said something softly, and Drake checked both ways down the corridor, before facing his locker. Grayson said something, indicating with his hands, but I couldn't hear anything, until Drake turned and said, "Roman's innocent in all this," defensively.

Grayson shook his head as he continued talking.

Drake turned his head and for a moment I thought he'd spotted me watching him, so I pretended to laugh softly as if engrossed in a video.

Drake once again looked at me, then back at Grayson, his arms crossed and his expression half way between annoyed and angry as he watched Grayson walk away. I quickly opened up Lukas' blog and was surprised that he hadn't updated in three days.

"Eavesdropping," Drake said, and I even flinched a little because of his tone.

"U-tube," I said. "Or I was. Loraine emailed me a really funny one." It wasn't a lie; she had – that morning. I saw it in the car with Jason. "I was checking out Lukas' blog – he hasn't updated since being released from the hospital. I thought he'd have posted something by now."

"Yeah, right," he said. He hit the locker next to him, but I simply looked up at him and smiled.

Nope big guy, you don't intimidate me. You're too swoon worthy, and you've a protective nature, not a brutish one. I knew that much about him for certain, not that Drake wouldn't do what had to be done, _if _he had to. "Bad day?" I asked, actually concerned.

"You could say that," he said and walked away. At least he's talking to me again. Not that _that_ was all I wanted, but it was a start.

At lunch, the weather was getting cloudy – rain-like cloudy. Some people were surprised by the change, others ignored it. I mean, yeah, we get rain, but our weather doesn't change up this fast normally. I met up with Julia, and we walked to the cafeteria together. I saw Lukas shoo off some students taking Emery's and Roman's pictures as I walked in, calling them 'bottom feeders,' glad that he still had his sense of humor.

Julia and I spotted Erik, and she headed toward him, but as we drew near, we heard him say, "I mean they are different species; their babies will probably have flippers."

Ouch.

Julia stopped in her tracks and said, "Nice," then turned, and we walked away. Not that I condoned producing half human-half Atrian offspring (me and my Iksen had set a edict prohibiting that), but his remark cut at me, too.

Erik rushed up to us, well, to Julia, "Oh c'mon, it was a joke," he said.

Julia turned to say something, but Miss Benton, called out, "Miss Yeung," and said she needed to speak to Julia in private.

Julia looked worried. "Julia?" I asked, but she shook her head. "I'll be here if you need me – for anything, I'll be here," I said.

Julia nodded and walked away.

"What is that about?" Erik asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be good," I murmured, then shook it off. "I'm sure it's nothing. Her grades are great."

"Miss Benton has been singling her out a lot lately," he stated.

So he's noticed it, too, has he? "Yeah, she has…"

"Maybe we should…?"

"Check on her? Yeah, that's probably a good idea," I said and went after Julia, wondering where Miss Benton took her.

Suddenly the news feeds came online. And the school storm windows were coming down. WTF?

In the video feed, Arthur Brench was in a yellow rain slicker and holding his microphone with both hands as he talked about the sudden unseasonable hurricane that had hit Louisiana, mystifying meteorologists, as it slammed the southeastern part of the state. Behind him the trees were swaying and there was torrential rain…

We were shuffled into the cafeteria by the teachers. Miss Benton announced that we were permitted on the first floor only and to stay away from the windows and the glass doors. But I didn't see Julia anywhere.

Drake and Roman were talking over by the food service, Drake with his arms crossed. Roman looked worried, but Drake shifted his weight and dropped his arms with a serious contemplative expression. Suddenly Roman went up and attacked Grayson, who had only been talking to Emery, and said, "Touch her again and I'll kill you."

Drake reacted immediately, shouting, "Stop, stop," as he grabbed Roman's arms. "If the guards see you throw the first punch they will be all over you."

Grayson backed off, and Roman went up to Emery, but then shook his head and ran off. Drake left, possibly to follow Roman.

Odd. I turned to find Justin standing next to me. "Justin, something is really off."

"Maybe he doesn't like being locked up?" he said offhandedly.

"He grew up in the Sector," I pointed out.

"Relax, it's probably the storm," Justin said, waving it off. "He's probably wanting to check on his people and can't, it's made him edgy."

I pulled out my phone, but I didn't have enough bars to get a signal. Damn. "I'm not edgy," I said trying to get a connection by moving the phone. I got a connection error indication. "The news feeds are working…"

"Different; radio waves and broadcast feeds – and you can pick the schools Wi-News system." Justin put a hand on my arm. "Like you were saying?"

He was right, I could pick up the news feeds through the school digital services, and maybe the internet, but not make a phone call. _Is everyone all right_, I typed and sent to Ihmen.

She didn't answer right away. However, I didn't get a mail delivery failure notice.

"I'm going to try and get a signal," I said and started to walk away. I walked down the hallway, but couldn't get a good signal.

"Mahureen, there you are," Loraine said, almost skidding to a halt. She looked down the hall and moved closer to me. "You're right in your suspicions of Miss Benton. She said and I quote, 'I have to go play teacher,' as if her teaching is a cover. But worse, I overheard Mr. Burke ask Miss Benton if he could test blood samples here."

"What?" I asked, taking a moment to process what she said.

"He's using her lab to test blood samples," she stated.

"Here on campus? Whose blood?" My gut told me it was Julia's. "Shit – ciper," I said, surprised they would be so bold – here and at school. "But with the storm, maybe he can't send emails. And if so, maybe we can corrupt the files."

"And the phones are down – well, most of them – everyone's complaining, disturbance from the storm," Loraine said.

Mr. Burke was alone in the lab. "Shoot. I need to find Julia," I stated. "Stay here and if he leaves, do what you can to erase the evidence – and nab his computer. I doubt they will want their personal organic chemistry project in the school computer system."

"Right, they wouldn't," she agreed.

"If you see Emery, or the guys, get them to help you," I suggested, wondering where Byron was. "I'll send Justin and Jason to back you up."

I found Emery in the corridor. "Have you seen Julia?" I asked.

"No, not for a while now," Emery said. "Last time I saw her was in the cafeteria."

"Before Miss Benton asked to see her?" I mumbled. "That was an hour ago."

Erik came around the corner and upon seeing us, hurried over. "Emery, have you talked to Julia today?"

"Not since this morning," Emery said. "Why?"

"I said something stupid and now she's avoiding me," Erik said, the remorse in his voice almost made me forgive him. "Could you check on her for me?" he asked us both.

"Yeah, we'll go find her," I said, and he thanked me. Maybe there was hope for the berk yet.

We searched for Julia, running through the hallways.

"Hey, Emery, has – did Julia accept that internship with Miss Benton? Has she said anything about it to you?"

"No, she didn't," Emery said. "Why?"

"Whatever Miss Benton wanted with Julia, I don't think she's given up. She pulled Julia out of the cafeteria earlier," I said, checking a empty classroom. "I already checked Miss Benton's class room, office and her lab."

We searched in more earnest and found Julia sitting on a secluded bench, crying.

"I don't know what Erik said, but I think this storm is officially making every boy in this school go insane," Emery said as we approached.

Julia laughed, but she was holding her hand cupped over her right arm.

"You okay?" Emery asked, but I could see she wasn't.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

"You most definitely are not," Emery said, walking up to her.

We sat down on either side of Julia. "What is that?" Emery asked, making Julia move her hand. "Is that a needle mark?" Emery asked, echoing my own thoughts. "Jules, what is going on?"

Julia started to cry, "I can't—"

"You most certainly can," Emery insisted. I put my hand on her shoulder.

"You have to keep this between us?" Julia said. "It's Miss Benton, she's only working here so she can get close to the Atrian seven to figure out how to make ciper work."

"That's her study, isn't it – ciper?" I asked.

"You know?" Emery asked me.

"I suspected. I didn't have any proof," I admitted. "Does she know you were cured by ciper?" I asked Julia.

"Yes, but she doesn't know that Roman had to mix it with his blood," Julia said. She looked at Emery. "I should have told you weeks ago. I was just so scared."

I put my arm across her shoulders.

"She threatened to poison my dad. I didn't know what to do," Julia said, and I could understand her fears.

"It's okay," I said, but if they had her blood it was only a matter of time before they worked it out. "You're not alone any more, we'll fix it. We have to get your blood sample and contaminate it, and corrupt his data on his computer," I suggested. "I'll find Lukas, maybe he can erase the data. I have my herb kit. There are Atrian herbs that effect memory, like khayler. Only I have to squeeze the puff pod under Mr. Burke's and Miss Benton's nose to make it work. The more they inhale, the more it modifies their memory." I doubted I could get them to share a glass of beer with me, so p**æ**mbek and pozatku are out of the question. Zapomiec migh – but erased all memory. That could go detected.

"But we have to get Julia's blood before he runs the tests," Emery stated.

I nodded. "My cousin Loraine is outside Miss Benton's lab, keeping an eye on Mr. Burke until she can get to his computer."

"Not alone? He's the type that would do unquestionable things, if it served his purposes," Julia stated.

I agreed. "Be careful. Loraine has a herb kit, too. Tell her I said to do _anything_ necessary to protect Julia's secret; she'll know. I'm going to find Lukas," I said and took off to find Lukas. I found Sophia and Lukas in the school computer lab. He was monitoring the storm. "What's up guys?" I asked. "Lukas?"

"Lukas has tracked the storm," Sophia said. "It started over the ship?"

"The ARDhet?" I asked, moving to where they were working. I could see the graphics on the screen.

Sophia nodded. "If someone initiated the anti-gravity thrusters, it would create a low pressure field," she said.

"That could cause this sort of disturbance," I finished for her, utterly astounded. "But who would do that? Humans can't engage the mechanical functions of the ship, can they?"

"I don't know," Sophia said with a shrug.

"But that means that the drives, power sources and all the main engineering are all still intact," I said, realizing what that implied. "The humans aren't dismantling the ship."

"But then why?" Lukas asked.

"To study it, obviously," I said. "If they can copy our drive technology…" I shook my head. "The access codes were not numerical, but random combination of kwandon, numbers and," I looked up. I was about to say elemental symbols, but stopped myself in time. Oops.

"How do you know so much about the Atrian ship?" Lukas asked.

Yep, he caught on. I was so stunned by what Sophia said, I'd said too much. If he was shocked by the revelation he didn't show it, though. That had to be good, right? Augh, unless he'd worked it out for himself before this. I had to be more careful.

The lights went out. The computers all went blank.

"You can trust him," Sophia said, and Luks nodded.

Great, he knew. Good he wasn't freaking out about it, but I wondered when he'd figured it out. "I have to," I realized. I turned to look at him, thankful that the emergency lights kicked on. "Lukas, there is something I wanted to ask you, two actually."

"Okay," he said slowly.

"Do you know what happened to you – why you were so sick?" I asked.

"An Atrian herb called black ciper," he replied.

I nodded. He knew. "And do you know how you were cured?"

"Ciper," he said. The lights came back on and so did the computers.

Sophia shook her head. "No, black ciper – we had to use black ciper to heal you."

"No, Sophia," I said and sat on a stool. "There is more to it than that. Do you know if Roman purged him afterwards?"

Lukas tapped the keys making his program come back up.

"Nooo," Sophia said slowly. "Purging. Oh, no. Do you have to?"

"Yes, it's imperative that he should have," I said. "Sorry, Lukas, I'm talking about you as if you're not here."

"It's all right?" he said. "So what are you saying? Is there a problem?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Black ciper can cure you of an attack, heal the lungs, but the spores are not out of your blood. Left untreated in the system, the black ciper spores are basically living as parasites inside of the blood stream, eventually they will bond with your DNA – well they do in Atrians, I'm not sure about humans."

"Sophia told me about black ciper," Lukas said. "You're saying that people who are infected with black ciper still carry the spores in their blood – unless they are purged?"

I hoped she'd explained everything thoroughly. "In Atrians, the black ciper will attack and change the normal ciper in their physiology, mutate it, change the ciper genome in their DNA into black ciper and the person becomes a black ciper host. Over time, the victim can release more spores into the world through their – well skin if you're Atrian – I'm not sure how if the host is human. Breathing maybe? When you die, the spores react with the decomposition of the body and grow."

"It will produce more black ciper," Lukas said as if more to himself than to me or Sophia. He looked up at me as if shocked."You're Atrian!"

I nodded, surprised. But then why…? Doesn't matter, he knows.

"I thought you could be, but I wasn't sure – because you're always with," he pointed to Sophia, "or Drake, and you're always talking about Atrian stuff, the Sector and the Trags with Emery and Julia… but you're one of them."

Gads, he'd overheard us – when? Not at school? In The Bug? Or… doesn't matter – he had. I really have to be more cautious of who's around. There was a bigger problem at hand to think about. "Yes, I am and, Lukas, and if you'll let me, I need to purge you, before the black ciper gets into your DNA."

I looked at Sophia. "And I'll have to purge Roman, or he'll have to be purged…"

"Roman didn't cure Lukas," she said. "I did."

"And you weren't purged?" I asked, and she shook her head. "I can do it – well – my healers can." I turned to Lukas. "I'm asking you a lot, trusting me, asking you to do this, but—"

"I'm still getting my head around you being an Atrian," he said.

"I'm of the Sævad tribe, our markings are usually lighter than the others, but even among my people mine are pale. It's called ubludnak, hypopigmentation—"

"I know what that is, my aunt has it," he said. "So why aren't you in the Sector with all the rest of the aliens."

I let the slur off with a chuffed laugh. "Not all of us were on the ship when it crashed." His forehead creased, so I added, "Life pods and drop ships."

"Ah," he said nodding. "So some of you avoided capture."

"We're not bad people, but yes, there are some of us in hiding. Please don't turn us in." He was taking this well, I thought, considering.

"Cure me and I won't," he said. And I was immediately relieved.

"Will you come with me after school…?" I looked at the shuttered windows. "Or when they finally let us out of here?"

"Sure," he said.

"You too, Sophia," I said, not really a request.

She nodded in understanding. "Of course," she replied. "I've been wanting to see where you live."

"Now I have a problem involving Mr. Burke, Miss Benton's assistant," I said and told them what I knew. "You can't let anyone know that Julia possibly has activated ciper in her body," I pleaded with Lukas.

"If she does, so will I, right? I'll have ciper in my body…?" he asked, and I nodded. "Her secret – and yours – are safe with me. I wouldn't want to be a lab rat, nor do I want my friends to become one either." He stood up. "Let's tell Gloria what we know about the ship and Miss Benton and her goon. She'll call the national guard, and they will shut down the ship."

"Lukas, wait, what if it isn't an accident, what if someone wanted to cause the storm," Sophia said.

"Only an Atrian knows how to do that," Lukas stated, and he looked at me. "Would…?"

"No!" I said emphatically. "No, we keep a low profile and try to blend in and survive. This integration program is essential for us – if it succeeds then we—"

"If it was an Atrian then no more integration; no more freedom; they can send us all to the crate," Sophia said. I could tell that that frightened her, and Lukas apparently could, too

"Look, I don't want that to happen, but this storm is tearing up my town, and I can't stand back and let that happen," Lukas said.

"Look, the storm it's – it looks like it's winding down," Sophia said. "Give it ten minutes, then we go tell Gloria."

"Okay," Lukas said, watching the screen. I hoped Loraine, Emery and Julia were having luck destroying Julia's blood evidence.

"But we do need to tell her about Miss Benton and her taking the blood of a student," I said.

Finally, Lukas was appeased that the storm was in fact, winding down. We left to go talk to Miss Garcia.

"Let me do most of the talking," I suggested. "There are some things I don't want said to her."

"You told me," Lukas said.

"I'm trusting you," I replied. Besides, if his blood became infused with ciper, as I suspected it will, he'd have a secret to keep that I knew. And I knew he wouldn't want to become a lab rat anymore than Julia did.

We spoke to Miss Garcia, and I told her that Miss Benton and Mr. Burke were planning to, for experiments on ciper, and that they suspected that Julia's recovery was due to ciper because she was friendly with them.

"That's preposterous! Roman and Julia didn't know each other when Julia had been hospitalized, and she certainly didn't have any connection prior to that as far as I'm aware, so her suspecting Julia of being cured by ciper is completely unfounded," Miss Garcia said. "I happen to know that they had formed friendship _after_ Julia came to Marshall High."

Okay, at least I hoped so – I mean no know connection other than her being Emery's best friend. All things considered, she took it well. Naturally she was furious about one of her teachers taking blood from a student and threatening to do so to the Atrians under her care.

However, Miss Garcia called the national guard and the SEU. The national guard came rather quickly, surprisingly fast. I hoped the government hadn't worked out that the anti-gravity thrusters on the ARDhet had been activated, but if they had… I'd have to discuss those ramifications with my Hwatab tonight.

We followed Miss Garcia and the officers of the National Guard to look for Miss Benton.

We saw Emery trying to support Teri on the stairs… Roman, whose right hand was all bloody, was standing in front of Emery as if drunk, and Mr. Burke who was lying unconscious on the ground. I rushed forward to Emery, ignoring the rebuke for the solider behind me. "What happened?"

"Yes, what is going on here?" Miss Garcia demanded to know.

"Mr. Burke was draining Teri of her blood," Emery said. "Julia, she's – she's up there," Emery said, pointing.

A guard tried to grab Roman, but Emery moved in his way. "He's been drugged or something," she said. "He's been acting off ever since lunch."

"Emery, you and Miss Stone take Roman and Teri to the nursing office. I'll be by shortly," she said, firmly, an order, which the men responded to. "You two follow me."

The other two guards grabbed Mr. Burke by the arms.

I pulled Lukas back as the guards dragged Mr. Burke away, another herding Emery and Roman with them. "I'll be right behind you with Teri, I told the other guard." I leaned close to Lukas. "We need to corrupt his computer," I said softly.

"I'll say," he said. "I'm on it, trust me – I'll take care of it."

I nodded as he ran off. I believed him.

We waited in the nurse's office. Teri needed ciper, and I had no idea what to do for Roman.

I was relieved when Byron walked in with Lukas. "Miss Garcia said she needs help," Byron said in a rush. "Now – its urgent!"

After a quick conference, two guards ran off. As soon as the door closed, Byron, jumped the remaining guard and knocked him unconscious.

I pulled out my cosmetic bag of herbs and took out the khayler pods. "It will befuddle his memory – that's all. Push his jaw up, I've only two hands." Byron held Mr. Burke's head firmly to his chest with his hands clamped under his chin so he couldn't open his mouth. I pinched Mr. Burke's nose, held it for a few seconds, then released it, and squeezed a khayler pod in his face as he inhaled. "I have to do this twice," I said, pinching his nose again after he exhaled. Mr. Burke's eyes widened as he gasped for air, as I restricted his breathing. When I released his nose and pinched the khaylar pod, he inhaled quite a bit more of the pale spore dust the second time. "Good. Now the guard," I said as Byron shoved a bit of zapomiec down the man's throat and forced him to swallow. I hoped he choked on it.

"I never want to be on your bad side," Lukas said as we did the same to the guard, well, just the khayler powder.

"I don't do this to friends," I stated.

"Good to know, friend," Lukas said, as I checked the guards' pupils. He'd be fine.

I handed Roman some ciper. "I'm going to have to alter her memory as well."

"No," he said, but I shook my head and held up my finger.

"You, I'm willing to trust," I said, then pointed to Teri, "Her, no. Once we administer the khayler, you can give her that," I said, indicating the ciper. "I am trusting you, Itrejivil Iksen," I said in Sondiv. "Betray me and the Torgasad will not honor Jadex II's treaty; the agreement with the Itrejivil will not be upheld."

Roman's eyes went wide. It was a threat, but he needed to know where I stood. "I understand," he said.

Byron and I used the khayler pods on Teri, then Byron left.

"Tell me he isn't Trag," Roman said.

I turned to face him. "I don't know what you're on, so I hope Emery can explain this to you later." She nodded, so I continued. "Byron and I grew up together; I trust him as a brother – love him as a brother. He is one of my strazhic ochrikujen. He joined the Trags to keep me and my Iksen appraised of their activities outside the Sector. But he is and has always been loyal to the safety and welfare of the people – all our people and even the humans."

"So he's your spy?" Roman asked.

"He's family. He's doing what is necessary to protect the people – our people." I held my hands up. "I wish I could…" I dropped my hands. "You and I should be working together – not in opposition. I regret not telling you who I am but it's not as if you and I became friends – you avoided me and didn't trust me, so I- I didn't know what to think of you. But believe me,_ everything_ I do is for our people – _everything_. Every day. I'm not your enemy." I turned and left, leaving him to deal with Teri.

I went to the cafeteria to find Justin and Jason, to inform them of all that had happened, and I saw Sophia talking to Lukas, so I joined them. "Thank you for not telling anyone about the ship," Sophia was saying.

"The storm let up," Lukas said. "But if what you said is true, then one of the Atrians is a terrorist," he paused to look at me. "The danger is not over yet, is it?"

I shook my head. "No, but I will have my Iksen investigate into who might have done this."

Sophia looked over at Taylor. Taylor looked really upset, so she went over to her.

"But even if it's not one of your people, that still means that one of the seven in school…" he paused. "What?"

"There are a few who are out here that are not – how do I put this? There is a few extremists who are not under me or my Iksen," I said, stepping closer to him so we'd not be overheard. "I know that no one under me and my my council of elders did – would do this… But that's not to say I haven't heard about rouge Atrians causing trouble – I have. And I try – we try every day to stop them and prevent them from doing anything dangerous, as any leader of a people would."

He nodded in understanding. "What now?"

I shrugged. "I meet with my elders and discuss this," I said. "But I will handle it on my end, I promise. This storm was as disturbing to me as it is to you, please believe that."

"I do," he said, and I felt relieved.

"Now, about you," I said, changing the subject.

"Let me call my mom, and I'll go with you," Lukas told me.

"Lukas, wait," I said. "It's… A purge takes hours. You'd have to spend the night, maybe even most of the day tomorrow."

"You mean skip school?" he asked.

I nodded. "I know you're not the type—"

"Oh, I'm the type, but I will have to get my mom's permission – or forge her signature if I miss school," he said.

"Wait, try this," I said digging into my herbs again. Across the room, I could see that Sophia was trying to console Taylor. I'm not sure what Sophia said to her, but Taylor kissed Sophia. Taylor glanced at Drake, who had a rather shocked expression on his face for about a second, then she walked away. However, Sophia touched her lips, looking bemusedly happy. Drake looked at Lukas and me, before walking away.

I turned to look at Lukas. "Sorry. It's called pozatku, it's a herb that when mixed with alcohol will make someone susceptible to suggestion. When she seems slightly drunk or sleepy tell her what you want, a half-hour later, when it seems to wear off, your suggestion will – she'll repeat your suggestion as if it was her idea and she'll sign the note."

"Like an inception." I didn't know what he meant, and he laughed lightly. "The act of instilling an idea into someone's mind by entering his or her dreams," he explained. "Even something odd like 'I want to spend tomorrow with Maureen?' My mom's a smart woman, she won't buy that."

"Something like that. Only try, 'I told my friend I'd help them clear away the storm damage from their house' or 'I want to help out with the storm damage as a community project' or something," I suggested.

"This herb won't hurt her will it?" he asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

I shook my head, smiling at him. "No, it won't. It befuddles the mind for a few minutes, making the user susceptible to suggestion. That's all. I promise. And unless you give her some weird suggestions like 'you're a chicken' or something, nothing will happen to her." He looked at me oddly. "I'm joking about the chicken thing. But my people, those trained and skilled in behavior modification, use the herb, like on troubled people, for rehabilitation, mental issues… but usually only under controlled instances because it does work – it leaves a very strong," I tried to remember the word he used, "inception impression. But it will not harm her." I didn't want to tell him that I've had to use it a few occasions on humans – well, those of my family have, when a human we didn't think we could trust found out too much. I hoped Lukas was trustworthy; he seemed to be.

"Okay, I get it," he said.

I opened my contact list and hit share. "Here is my address and phone number," I said, tapping my phone to his. "Call me, and I'll come pick you up and take you to where my physicians are."

"Atrian physicians? That will be interesting. Okay, I'll call you as soon as I use this on my mother and get her permission," he said and walked off.

Outside on the way to our cars, I saw Julia kissing Erik, and Emery was speaking to Roman. Emery kissed him, but when she walked away she looked sad as opposed to Julia who looked elated when she and Erik parted. High school drama.

I approached Sophia before she got to the bus. "Lukas is coming over tonight. You should come over tomorrow, too, You'll need to be purged as well. I'll pick you up outside the Sector first thing in the morning." Her purging should go easier than Lukas', she didn't have spores in her lungs.

"Sure," Sophia said, and I think she was actually looking forward to it. Little did she know; the purging could be excruciating painful. I hoped the neuro-inhibitors worked. Erin had been trying to improve them, his little project. Tonight, we'd find out if they helped or not.

"You can then hang out with us, and I'll show you how we live," I said. "We should have you home before curfew." I hoped so.

"By the way, Roman was under the influence of vatal," Sophia told me. "It's worn off, thankfully."

I nodded, knowing the herb. "I wonder who gave it to him," I thought aloud, and realized that it had to have been Teri. I wonder if that was why Byron warned me about her that morning. "I hope his memory of the day is intact," I said.

Sophia shrugged. "I think so, I'll find out if you want?"

"No, it's all good. I'll see you tomorrow morning – and bring a swim suit," I said and waved goodbye as I walked over to my cousins.

Notes:

Sorry this on got a little long. But there was a lot to put in here. Next chapter is not related to the series, but happens between the storm and the scene in episode 11.


	11. Chapter 11

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

10a ("What Is Not Known Is Our Folly")

I called Me-ma and Nanina to see if the storm caused any damage at the apartment and was relieved that it was minimal. "A few windows were broken, and one of the trees out front fell over, but really we were lucky. The houses sustained more damage than we did, but so far, it's all being cleaned up," Nanina said.

"Okay, the four of us will head over the houses and see if we can help," I said. No point of worrying her with my plans to have Lukas purged at the cul-de-sacs. I hung up and called Ihmen. Thankfully this time she picked up.

"Ihmen, how are things there? Is everyone all right? Nanina told me the storm wrecked things up over there. What's the damage?" I asked.

"One question at a time," she replied with a demure laugh. "No one was hurt, but the park is a mess: broken branches, leaves everywhere, some of the glass windows, we lost a few of the awnings and the pools have to be cleaned up."

"How many of the awnings are gone?" I asked. One of our concerns regarding the strip of land between the houses that were back-to-back in the housing development was the satellites that the government or curious civilians could use (such as Google Earth) to look down on communities and people's houses.

Especially considering that we fluorescence a vivid brilliant blue in water. So the area we called the strip or the park, the backyards that were left open as one long park-like play area for the family to use, had been camouflaged with trees, large patio roofs and awnings, gazebo style and arbor-like pool houses, and large umbrellas. Very little of the pools or grassy areas were actually visible to the sky. But with a sudden storm like the one we just had, there would have been almost no time to draw back and tie down the awnings or take down the umbrellas and to pull the patio furniture into the houses.

"We are assessing the damage now. Thankfully we didn't have electric failure and the pumps are all functional," Ihmen stated.

That was a relief. "Ihmen, the four of us are coming over. I also have a situation that needs to be addressed, and I'll need your help getting the other Iksen to agree with me."

"Okay," she drawled out slowly. "Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to like this?"

"Because you won't," I replied. "But hear me out." I told her about Lukas' incident with black ciper and that Sophia had used her blood infused with black ciper to heal him. "Only thing is, neither was purged afterwards – both are still harboring black ciper in their blood – and it's possible that Lukas is still carrying it in his lungs."

"Mahureen, you know he is!" she exclaimed. "How many days?"

"Two days before Dinaskyu – the day I helped Roman, Emery and Drake destroy the plant Zoeda hid at Black Bear Lake State Park," I stated.

"What?!" she exclaimed.

"I know. The good news is that as far as I know, Lukas is the only one to have the spores in his lungs. But I think Emery should be checked as well," I continued, but I understood her concerns. I had them too.

"Mahureen! You can't just bring humans here! They aren't supposed to know about us and this place!" Ihmen said, alarmed. "And they will have to be quarantined!"

"It's only the two, and I'll be careful. I'll bring Luks tonight, and Emery and Sophia first thing tomorrow morning. Besides, Sophia should meet the Iksen. I'll take them directly to Doug and Marcial's house, so we only have to evacuate the one home, and—"

"I will have to ask the Hwatab," she said, cutting me off.

"No, Ihmen, _inform_ them. I'm not asking for permission – this has to be done. Lukas is a friend of Roman's, and he has proven to be useful to the heir apparent Itrejivil Iksen. I already told Lukas and Emery a little about us, so it's a moot point to ask permission now. Besides, if we don't do this, he will be a risk to everyone he comes in contact with – including the fifteen of us in school," not that our three Zæsak scouts posing as seniors in school or Teri, Durren, Corben and Lynne have that much contact with Lukas, but… I can't risk there being a living human black ciper host. Not to mention, but if he infects Roman, imagine the complications," I argued. There really was no point arguing anyway – it had to be done. "Oh, and ask Giles if his neuro-inhibitors are ready? I want to use them." He was one of our Sævad medical physicians, and had been working with our biotechs and micro-biomed engineers to improve the neuro-inhibitors.

"I'll inform the Iksen and the physicians. But I'm telling you, they will not like this one bit," Ihmen warned me.

"I understand," I said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

Lukas called me as soon as I hung up. "I can't believe it," he said. "She didn't even question it. She left, telling me she was going to my grandmother's and plans on staying there for a few days. She even drafted out a quick note for school – so I'm in the clear."

"Is your grandmother all right?" I asked.

"I'm sure she is," he said. "My mom would've said otherwise. I will have to help my dad tomorrow with the restaurant, and I have to clear the palm fronds from the yard."

"Give me your address, and we'll help," I said. A minute later I had the address and looked up the directions on MapQuest.

When we arrived, Lukas and Emery were pulling two palm fronds to the curb.

"Ahhh, hi," I said, glancing at Lukas as if to ask 'Why is she here?'

Luks pulled me aside, but Justin followed us. I held up my hand, letting him know I'd handle this. "She came to see if I was all right. I told her I would be going to your house…" Lukas started to say, then looked down, unable to meet my gaze.

"What did you tell her?" I needed to know.

He looked embarrassed. "She knows about the black ciper anyway, but she was concerned when I said that I had to be checked out."

I wasn't pleased, but at least it was Emery. "You shouldn't have told anyone," I said, not hiding my disappointment. "But I trust Emery."

Emery approached. "Is Lukas all right? He said that he had to be treated – purged of black ciper?"

I turned to her. "Yes, I don't know how much Roman told you, but I know that he wasn't told everything, apparently. Since Sophia used black ciper to cure Lukas' lungs that means it is still in his blood, and he needs to be treated with red ciper to purge it out of his system. He's going to spend the night with us so my physicians can cure him." I considered for a moment; her being here was fortuitous. "You were in contact with the spores as well; they should check you out, just to be sure."

"Okay," Emery said with a nod and made a phone call to her mother, telling her she wanted to come to my house as Lukas gave us a quick damage report.

I turned to my cousins. "Loraine, you and Lukas board up the broken windows; Justin, Jason and I will help with yard clean up," I said and got to work. Between the six of us, it didn't take too long before were done and Lukas and Emery were crammed into the back seat of my car with Jason and Justin. I made my way to the houses, dodging fallen trees, palm fronds and other debris. Twice I had to take a detour, but we made it all right.

I turned on the street leading to cul-de-sacs. Briarhill Road was a mess, and the mud was thick in a few places, but the car made it through. I'll swap it for one of the smaller SUV's once I get there, I thought, passing Elmwood Lane and turning on Oak Knoll Drive, the names we chose for our streets because they seemed common enough.

Rusden and his boys were out front cleaning up, and he took out his phone as I pulled onto Doug and Marcial's drive and parked in their garage. I led Emery and Lukas to the front door and down the stairs to the first basement, what we called the Care Unit. The house was quiet, as if deserted, and all the doors were closed, a natural precaution. I led them down the next staircase to the rooms we used as our treatment facilities. Meheka, Ihmen, Doug and Marcial were waiting for us. I introduced Emery and Lukas to everyone. "This is Lukas Parnell and Emery Whitehill."

Lukas' eyes widened as Ihmen nodded to him in greeting, and he stammered a, "Nice to meet you," and recovered quickly before shaking Doug's, then Marcial's hands. Emery was warm and polite as I expected her to be.

"So is this the human infected with black ciper?" Meheka asked kindly, taking his hand gently.

"Yes, the human we need to purge," I replied.

We entered the soft white, pale peach and light orange corridor. I know it was quite clinical, very ascetic, so I smiled reassuringly to my human friends.

"Giles is here, and he thinks the inhibitors are functional," Ihmen told me as we led my friends to a treatment room.

Three of our physicians were waiting, already in protective gear. I could tell Lukas was getting nervous. I reassured him as well as I could, and Marcial and Gerand explained the procedure to him, answering his questions. He would be given a large dose of activated ciper infused Atrian blood plasma, enough to cause ciper fire. He'd be allowed to burn for a few hours, then given a vire solution to reverse the fire. Gerand made it sound easy; I knew it was not. "It's not as bad as he says," I told Lukas. "Gilles has his neuro-inhibitors, so you won't feel anything." I hoped.

I showed Lukas where to change and handed him the short boxer-like shorts, then helped him onto the gurney. Gilles placed the neuro-inhibitors.

After a few seconds, Lukas looked at me. "I can't feel my body," he said.

I smiled. "That's good, it means the inhibitors are working," I told him as Gerand and Marcial put the IV's in both of Lukas' arms and his feet. His whole body needed to be purged, considering the delay in his treatment, and being human, we had to hope he wouldn't get thrombosis or an embolism. I waited and watched, sitting close enough to Lukas that he could see me easily.

One of the other physicians led Emery to another room to be examined, checked for any ciper residuals. Loraine went with her for support. Emery came back, smiling. "All cleared!" she said, walking up to Lukas. I was so relieved. "How are you doing?"

"Like having an out of body experience," he said jokingly. Across the room next to the monitors, Gerand smirked. "It's like being in the hospital all over again," Lukas said.

"I bet," Emery replied.

"For us this is our hospital," I said, gently touching his cheek, since he couldn't feel anywhere else. Emery sat with him, talking to him, keeping him company, not that I was going to leave him.

When the IV's were all empty, Lukas was allowed to sit up. Soft veining was already beginning to occur on his arms and legs, but he wouldn't be given the vire solution until it reached his neck.

Meheka came to call me to dinner. "I don't want to leave Lukas," I said, urging Emery to go eat.

"No you don't, young lady, you are going to go eat," Meheka insisted.

Ihmen entered the room, and I could see Lukas' eyes pupils dilate, a typical male reaction around her. I've always been amused at the reaction she gets, although I admit, she's gorgeous – model beautiful and graceful. "I'll stay with your friend," she said.

"You okay?" I asked, getting up.

"Yeah," Luks said. "Bring me back a pizza?"

I laughed. "I'll see what I can do; but it's up to Marcial to decide what you should eat." I gave his arm a squeeze and led Emery up to the first level basement and through a tunnel to another house.

"Are all the houses connected?" she asked as I led her through another tunnel for Meheka's home.

"Yes, a full underground community of Atrians, invisible to you humans," I said jokingly. Meheka's dining room was a large room with arches on the outside wall that opened onto her sunroom and out to her large covered patio. We often held Hwatab here since it could hold many people, but today it was empty except for my three cousins. Ghenna had apparently made dinner for us in the spacious kitchen, but only Loraine, Justin and Jason were there, already helping themselves to the enchiladas and salad as Emery and I joined them. Outside the windows of the sunroom, I could see the shapes of our men and women clearing away the debris and felt a bit of guilt that I wasn't helping.

"They are just, I dunno, shy – we worry so much about being discovered and all," Loraine was explaining to Emery. "It's not that they are afraid of you in particular."

After eating, we played games in the sun room for a while, then Loraine offered to drive Emery home, and I went down to sit with Lukas.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I woke up at nautical dawn and went down to see Lukas again. He was still sleeping peacefully. He had been given the vire solution around one in the morning, and his body had begun to glow as the vire spread through is veins. I sincerely hoped that when Marcial and Gerand checked his tissues and blood that the black ciper had been eradicated. They were going to scan his lungs as well.

I sat with Lukas until six and left to go get Sophia at the Sector gates. Ihmen assured me she'd sit with Lukas, because I didn't want him to wake up and be alone. I wish Loraine had stayed the night, but she did say she'd be back sometime this morning.

I waited, listening to the radio until I saw Sophia and Roman exiting the security checks. What was Roman doing? Shouldn't he be with his people cleaning up the Sector? They needed him and his support, didn't they? It was bad enough I wasn't helping out more with our own clean up. But in a way, I rationalized, I was helping our people, by helping Sophia and Lukas rid themselves of the black ciper spores.

Sophia and Roman stopped outside the gates, and I could tell that Roman was not at all happy about Sophia leaving. I got out of my, well, Nanina's SUV and waved at her. Sophia saw me and brushed Roman off, walked up to my car. "Is everything all right?" I asked.

"Roman doesn't think that this is necessary," she said as Roman stopped beside her.

Behind him the SEU guards were watching us. "Is anyone going to school today?" I asked. I could see a dark skinned guard approaching.

"No, we're needed in the Sector," Roman stated. "What is this about purging my sister?"

"Get in and let's go someplace we can have a private conversation," I suggested, indicating the approaching guard.

Sophia quickly got into the car, and I hurriedly got into to the driver's side. As I turned the key, Roman jumped into the back seat. I pulled out of the parking space casually, and turned for the exit, ignoring the guard waving his arm at us. As I pulled onto the street, I saw him turn and walk away. "First, is everyone in the Sector all right? Did you sustain any damage to your homes?"

"Nothing that can't be repaired," Sophia said. "No one was hurt, but there is a lot of debris from the storm."

I drove a ways, listening to Sophia elaborate on the conditions in the Sector, before pulling over and cutting the engine. I unlatched my safety belt and turned in my seat, and Roman leaned forward his arms on the headrests.

"Now, what is going on with my sister?" he demanded.

"First, I want your word that you will protect the location of the people," I demanded. Sophia's eyes widened and Roman's narrowed. "I warn you, they – those people in the place I have to take Sophia – are my first priority. I have to know you intend to protect them as well."

"Of course I'll… I will not divulge their location to anyone," Roman said. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he copulated, "I swear to protect the locations of the people of the Tgorasad."

"They are not only Tgorasad; there are others, even some of your tribe under my protection," I told him. When he looked surprised I shook my head. "Everyone on the ARDhet that made it to the drop ships – everyone not shot or rounded up in the hunts – they are the ones I've sworn to protect. Many of the escape life pods were shot down by human aircrafts, but the drop ships landed safely. The hunts lasted for a year and a half, but after that, we reached out to the others in hiding, regardless of tribe. That's why I say the people – it's not just my tribes, Roman – it's everyone."

He was thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, you have my word."

I nodded. He finally understood. "Thank you."

"You haven't told me what you intend to do to Sophia," he said. "Castor assured me that black ciper was safe for our kind. He said it's only harmful to humans."

"I was afraid of that," I said, shaking my head. "Roman, black ciper isn't harmless – it's very dangerous. If the spores were inhaled, as I told Sophia, the spores can attach to the connective tissues of the lungs. Using black ciper to cure a victim of black ciper burning only stops the toxic effect to the respiratory system, it doesn't remove the spores. If left untreated, if they are not purged with red ciper, persons who are infected with black cipher still carry the spores in their blood and lungs. The black ciper spores are basically parasites that live in the blood stream, and will attack and change the ciper in our physiology as well as the ciper genome in our DNA, turning the person into a black cipher host. Over time, the victim can release more spores into the world through their skin."

"How do you know all this?" he asked.

"This wasn't the first black ciper plant, and we were lucky that time," I told him. "We have Itrejivl and Tgorasad physicians at the homes: Dyllan is a Swamad physician, Marcial and Gerand are Dævas physicians, and Giles is a Sævad bio-medical physician," I said, "And all three will be monitoring Sophia just as they have been for Lukas." That seemed to appease him. "Roman, I have to ask you, did you or Drake get the Cmierk ostka, a death cube from Zoeda?"

"The cube?" he asked, and from the confused look on his face, I dreaded the answer. "No, it was destroyed in the blast."

"No, it wasn't. My scouts went to the boathouse and they didn't find any trace of the cube!" I turned in my seat and started up the car. "Let's get going." I was going to have to tell Ian about it and have Rayne and Sephen try and find the cube before Zoeda used it again.

The roads were still a mess, and I had to take the same detours as the afternoon before. Roman was quiet, so Sophia and I chatted all the way to the cul-de-sacs. As I led them down to the lower basement in Doug and Marcial's house, Roman asked questions about the construction and why we dug so deep underground. "Most of the people living here still have their markings," I explained. "There are families here, children, and they can't be seen. Only those of us who are unmarked or those of us who's markings are pale enough to pass as human go outside or work in the businesses we've established."

Like before, Meheka, Doug and Marcial met us in the corridor, although Dyllan was there as well. Dyllan greeted Sophia, Nox's daughter, and Roman, Nox's son – his Iksen apparent, warmly. I think meeting him reassured Roman a bit.

"I want to check on Lukas," I said.

"I do, too," Sophia said, but Meheka shook her head.

"No, dear, that is inadvisable," she told Sophia. "He's recovering and his immunity is – could be compromised. The ciper is healing him, but…"

I looked at Meheka, alarmed. "He's doing well," Meheka reassured me, "but early indications show he may need another round of the purge."

My heart ached for him. Had the black ciper infestation really had that strong of a hold in only a week? "I understand. I'll take Sophia to change and meet you in the treatment room." Roman didn't want to be separated from his sister, but Dyllan told him it was only a changing room. I gave Sophia the breast band and shorts and waited for her to come out. She came out, still wearing her tritajie, a hooded coat with a poncho-like collar that could be draped over the shoulders.

We entered the treatment room and Marcial and Gerand explained the procedure to Sophia and Roman. Meheka took Sophia's tritajie as I helped her onto the gurney. Knowing she was uncomfortable being so exposed, I laid a drape across her middle. "We have to see your legs, arms and chest," I explained. "So we can judge the progression of the ciper fire."

"I understand," she said, giving me a worried smile. She was being so brave. "Will this hurt?" she asked.

Giles walked up to her head. "No, not at all like when you used the black ciper to cure the young man's respiratory burns. These are neuro-inhibitors," he said, showing her the triangular devices. "They will be placed between the third and fourth vertebrae. You will be able to breathe comfortably, but the rest of your body will be numb." He set them in place and asked her how she felt.

Sophia's eyes became unfocused for a second before she looked at us again. "I don't, I feel… disconnected," she said.

I nodded. "That's actually good," I said, and smiled at Roman who was holding her hand.

Like with Lukas, IV's were placed on her arms and feet, and the ciper infused plasma allowed to drain into her body. At least with her being Itrejvil, we didn't have to worry about thrombosis or an embolism occurring. "Try and relax," I told her. She was definitely more apprehensive than Lukas had been, and I spoke to her about anything I could think of to help her take her mind off of it.

I went to check on Lukas, seeing that he was already undergoing his second purge. I told him that Sophia was in the next room. I tried to divide my time between my two friends, and when Loraine came, I asked her to stay with Ihmen to comfort Lukas, but I was still bouncing between the two rooms as much as possible. I was grateful that Meheka stayed with Sophia, giving comfort to her and to Roman.

Lukas' second purge took much shorter than his first, because the ciper fire spread so much more quickly, therefore the danger was greater, but his recovery was taking longer. Thankfully he didn't experience thrombosis or an embolism, but the physicians wanted him to rest for another six hours or more.

Because she was Atrian, Sophia needed much more ciper infused plasma than Lukas had to induce a full on ciper fire, and although she reacted better to the vire solution than Lukas had, glowing really brightly to the vire, it was four in the afternoon before she was able to get up and walk around. But she needed hydration to fully recover.

"So now we should get you up to the pools for a swim," I told Sophia as Meheka arrived with turquoise swimsuits and wraps for her, Roman and me.

"We should get back to the Sector," he said, eyeing the swimsuit.

"You can, but Sophia needs to hydrate to fully recover properly. If you want to leave—"

"No, I'll stay," he said, cutting me off.

"Roman," Sophia said his name slowly, and I forced myself not to smirk. "I'd like a swim and," she looked at me, "see how you live."

"Okay, this way," I said, leading to the changing rooms. Sophia and I changed quickly, meeting Roman in the corridor.

"So that's a purge," Sophia asked as we climbed the stairs for the ground floor.

"It's a lot easier with the neuro-inhibitors," I said. "Believe me, I know."

"How?" Roman asked.

"I told you; Sophia and Lukas are not the only ones who've had contact with black ciper," I told him. "There was another plant – a much smaller one than the one we destroyed at the boathouse. It was in a warehouse. The black ciper was grown from an arm – I don't know whose arm. Two of my men had to be purged – the third victim was a Trag and had to have his memory altered as well." Actually he was still in custody here – the elders wanted to terminate him, but we've been using our herbs to modify his memory. The fourth victim was dead and had to be cremated. The old neruo-inhibitors were not as effective that time.

As we exited the house for the park area, Sophia gaped in wonder. I spent seven years here, swimming in the pools and playing on the grass under the trees, that I had come to take the park for granted. Even though many of the residents were still cleaning the last of the fallen debris from the storm and repairing the broken awnings, showing the park to Roman and Sophia, I realized just how pretty the pools were. Several of the children were swimming in the pools with nets, having been given the task of collecting any twigs and leaves the sweepers missed. Several of the people stopped to watch Roman and Sophia as I led her to the nearest pool house.

I jumped in as Sophia eased into the water. At first she simply sunk under the water, watching the children, but after a long soak, we started to move about. I led her through the aqua tunnels to the next pool and the next before coming up to the surface.

"How many pools are there?" she asked as Roman surfaced behind me.

"There are 23 in all, not counting the caves and disconnected 20' by 12' endless pools," I said. I never bothered to count, but I know that Elmwood Lane and Oak Knoll Drive had twenty-one houses each and the last six houses on Briar were ours, which meant that over eighteen houses lined the park area, but some of the other houses had pools as well.

"Are they all connected?" Sophia asked.

"Yes, they are, mostly, but the children are encouraged to keep to the pools in the park since they glow brighter than the adults," I said. We swam until Sophia said she'd had enough, and I led her and Roman back to the Care Unit so she could visit Lukas. He sat up as we entered his room, glad for the company. I was pleased that he was doing so well. We ate dinner with Lukas, but then Ihmen came to get me for the Hwatab meeting.

"Roman, come with me," I said. He seemed reluctant, so I assured him Sophia would be fine here with Lukas, and even she thought it was a good idea for him to go. I led him to Meheka's house.

I took a deep breath before walking into the dining room, head held high, shoulders back, back straight. I walked up to the middle of the table, the wysedia position at Meheke's table, and indicated that Roman sit beside me, on my left. I left the moltek where it sat. "Roman is not familiar with the formal customs, so we shall dispense with them for this meeting," I said. My statement garnered a few surprised faces, but I sat straight and tall as the others took their seats. I introduced Roman to each Iksen in turn. "This is Patrik – interim Sævad Iksen; Meheka – our Dævas Iksen, and her daughter, Ihmen whom you've met. Ihmen is Meheka's Second. Ian – our Zæsak Iksen, and his son, Jhark, his Second. And this is Jerdon, our Cæveh Iksen, and his Second, Lejan." I figured he could meet the other adults, the tribal 'elders,' after the meeting.

I expected him to comment on there being Cæveh represented at our table, but he did not. Maybe Nox did tell him they had been included in the new colony. I controlled the floor, having Patrik, Meheka and Jerdon make their reports as I guided the discussions as I did before. If Roman was impressed he didn't show it. When I turned to Ian, I asked him for the update on the census I asked for.

He opened an interactive projection wall interfaced to his iTablet. "So far we have limited data: Elijia houses 420, and they are overcrowded; Ukaenos has 350 and asks that we not send them anymore as they have limited resources capabilities, but Negea only has about 140 in residence, so they could accept newcomers – and these numbers reflect newborns within the last seven years."

That wasn't so many, I'd expected more than that.

"We've yet to locate the four families that moved from Elijida – we believe they are near the Pearl River as well."

"I remembered that, they asked to leave to ease the overcrowding," I said, more for Roman to hear. "I'm glad they are well." I hoped.

"We located five Iwabas families beside the seven we knew of previously still hiding in the bayou, each numbering between three to five individuals. Most of them are utilizing the voodoo myths as a cover and coloring their skin dark to hide their markings. As far are I know, only four Swamad families have been confirmed to be living along the Pearl River, they too utilizing the leather dyes to appear dark skinned. We've yet to locate the five families that we believe have moved to the Brenton Sound and the Lafourche area and my scouts have yet to report from the Cameron and Vermilion areas. So far, except for those we've set out, the people are staying in the lower Louisiana areas."

I turned to Ihmen and opened the discussion for the ten men and women who volunteered to go to universities and promote our interests in the areas of science, astrophysics, astronomy and areospace.

"Kenton says his project is at the Allen Telescope Array has reached its zenith, but he's willing to stay. Kerift says he has put forth his doctoral thesis in LSU on fuel development – our formula for the ARDhet. It is being used now in the Kepler II's. Walsh is now a research scientist/assistant at the SETI Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Agynee says that her computer program has been approved for use following a successful trial run Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. She's now writing a program for the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. Boruck at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Ca., says that the Kepler II's scanning and relay systems are operating well and the data received has so far narrowed our choices. He'll give a full report later. And Haden has put forth our designs for triangulation astronomical observing research satellites to the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, that will improve the ability to spot planets around various suns in the Milky Way Galaxy. Duran has applied to his PhD in astrophysics. Carl is in his last year in Mechanical Engineering. Ptigura's grant at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics has been extended. Haden was accepted into the project at the Keck II telescope in Hawaii. Kurke has been able to replicate the metals we need to replace the ARDhet's missing hull panels; he is filing patents on the formula this month. Deyne says he has received a grant for his duranium, tritan-stalunsile panels and transparent aluminum. And the foundry we've been looking to aquire—"

This report had Roman bewildered. "Why are you giving humans our technology?" he asked me quietly.

"Ihmen, excuse me," I said and turned to him. "Considering the hostility of the indigenous people of this planet and the fact that amicable relations are so slow coming, even with the integration program, we have been moving forward with the idea of finding another solution."

"Another solution?" Roman asked.

"Yes, another planet," I stated. I turned to Ihmen. "Do you have the information of the ones we are so far considering?"

She opened the interactive projection wall interfaced to her iTablet. "We have narrowed the list from fifty possible inhabitable planets down to ten," she said and reviewed the list, incorporating the newest data we've received. This really did impress Roman. "So far the Kepler II program has been moving forward, but we're still trying to get three more space observatory crafts launched. If we do, the search parameters will be wider."

We wrapped up Ihmen's report and reviewed the household expenses, needs requests and birth announcements. I turned to Roman. "How are things in the Sector?" I asked.

Roman looked at me astounded. "We've overcrowding in the south section, and there is a waste removal issue in several sections."

"How about food, communication and water?" one of the elders asked.

"Food, we're good. The market is mostly Goodwill, government subsided surpluses and federal food bank items. Water is not an issue," he stated, and I was glad for that. "But we're not allowed communication devices or human technology of any kind in the Sector."

"What about clothes, medical supplies and education for your youth?" another man asked.

"We have a clothing allowance and there is a government clothing exchange," he said, and I wondered how that worked. "Mostly we fend for ourselves medically, but serious injuries are handled by the SEU paramedics or the Edenvale hospital – although we avoid going there at all costs."

"I know that you have other questions, and I know you'd like to ask Roman regarding to loved ones and friends who may be in the Sector. Hopefully, as relations between humans and our people improve, Loraine, Justin, Jason or I can have access to the Sector, then we might be able to discreetly inquire, but for now, that information has to remain guarded."

"Why?" Roman asked.

"Names on a list can indicate who or how many are living outside the Sector. We keep our locations a carefully guarded secret, and if any human on the SEU guard, Homeland Security or the National Guard got hold of such a list—"

"They'd know that there were people out here looking for them – it would start up the hunts again," Roman said.

I was glad he understood. "It's hard not knowing. Both my visits into the Sector allowed me the opportunity to make careful inquiries; I did manage to provide comfort to a small handful of those I spoke to and to their family members living out here."

"What about giving me a few names that I could check, and let me do the same?" Roman asked.

I turned to the Iksen, although several of the adults in the room sat up straighter. Hopes were high, it would ease minds. "I'll set the vote to you," I said.

There was discussion on how many and how Roman and I would exchange the names, and whether it was advisable. Ian was worried about security, Ihmen that people would talk, telling others that they heard that their families and friends were well and alive, which would potentially cause resentment, jealousy and many others to hound Roman and I to put their names on the list to ask. "It can't be a written list. Even names in Kwandon can be translated by the humans," she warned.

"I don't know, it's still very risky, but we could try," Meheka said. "We all know that this way of hiding will eventually have to end. And when we come out of hiding, the humans will react poorly."

I knew of the eventuality she spoke of, when we'd have to present our desire to rebuild the ARDhet to the government and hope that the contributions we've made will count enough, prove to the politicians that we had no intention of colonizing here, but I didn't expect that time to be a smooth one. And Ian frequently prepared me for a lengthy interrogation regarding our culpability and deceit. I waited until the elders had their say and the arguments were made and heard. When the same arguments were being repeated I called order. "I ask for your vote, honored mothers – honored fathers?"

As expected they were split. "Please continue this discussion, and we shall open it up at the next formal Hwatab. Anyone who wishes may share their thoughts to the Iksen representing them." I concluded the meeting and informed those present that I wanted to check on my friends in the clinic.

Meheka walked with Roman, still discussing some of the points covered in the Hwatab meeting, as we went down to check on Lukas.

I was pleased that Lukas was up and dressed. Ghenna had returned Sophia's tritajie and clothes to her, all freshly laundered as well.

"I think it's time I took you home," I told Lukas, knowing that my evening with Roman and Sophia was hardly over.

After dropping off Lukas, I headed to the apartment, not the Sector. "Where are we going?" Roman asked.

"Considering all the revelations you've had today, I assumed you'd have questions," I said and glanced at him quickly in the mirror. "You just found out that we've not only protect Eljida, but we've built Ukænos and Negea, and that we have been using Atrian technology in the human sciences sectors to locate a viable planet and to create things we needed to not only build underground structures here in Louisiana, but plan on rebuilding the ARDhet to leave."

Sophia looked at me in shock. "What? Wait? Leave?"

I turned the corner. "We were never supposed to be here," I told her. "Your father gave the order to bypass this planet because it was already inhabited – with a technologically advanced people. That was when the people stirring up the dissent onboard ship went into action. Nox had led us to this dense section of space, what the humans call the Milky Way, because our sensors indicated numerous galaxies, thousands with viable stars with planets in a circumstellar orbits, hoping to find one at a range that can possess liquid water on the planetary surface and possibly support life. But people were getting impatient."

"Yes, I know this," Roman said. "But we crashed and now we have to make the best of it."

"Do we?" I asked him. "Consider this; Sophia said that the last hurricane started directly above the ARDhet. It was caused by our anti-gravity thrusters. That means that the humans are not taking apart the ship as we'd been led to believe." I turned the corner onto my street. "And we've discovered that 35 of the planets human have deemed as having the possibility to support life – are possible to support life, although maybe not ours. _And_ with the current advancements in their stellar technology in the last five years, we've increased that possibility to over a hundred more, although we have narrowed our list down to ten that we are hoping have significant water resources. We've only to verify the atmosphere, cloud cover, precipitation and air qualities… it's actually getting exciting."

"We're here," I said as I pulled into the parking structure. I led them into the courtyard, smiling as Sophia's eyes widened. We had a variety of plants – Atrian plants – that we grew here, both on the second floor balcony and in the courtyard, and a circulating water feature that had two swimming ponds and a waterfall.

"You live here? It's gorgeous," she exclaimed and I had to admit, I loved it too. I took her up to my unit on the third floor, grabbed water bottles from the fridge and joined them on the sofas.

"I'm just surprised that you never consulted my father any of this," Roman stated as I handed him a bottle.

"You're assuming that we didn't," I said, jumping up. I went to retrieve my Iksen's phone. I handed it to him and Roman gaped at me in shock.

"This is like my father's phone!" he said and even Sophia expressed her surprise.

"Only Meheka and Robert Grund – our Zæsak Iksen who's been missing… Meheka gave me his, so now I have one. Someone named Weebler and made them, and Nox would let us know times and dates to meet," I said, apparently another revelation to the Iksen's son and daughter. "When your father died, we lost all contact. I had hoped that you and I would establish a trust," I said to Roman, "but that took a while. Joshen and Rachel are making phones that won't be picked up by the SEU scanners."

I'd hoped for more time to talk to Roman, but my roommates came home, carrying food enough for an army, followed by the boys.


	12. Chapter 12

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 11 ("Give Me a Torch")

Okay, I know that some of our traditions and customs may seem odd to humans, but I arrived at school with my cousins (a little earlier than normal considering I thought the streets would still be cluttered and impassable, which they weren't, so no lengthy detours necessary) and I swear, odd didn't adequately explain what was going on. Yes, there were an inordinate number of couples kissing in the parking lot, but a pachyderm wearing a snowflake-patterned red scarf carrying a giant snowflake is unusual as was the float that read, _Winter Blast_, with flashing star-shaped Christmas lights near the school entrance. Course, seeing a guy with Rudolf antlers and nose kneeling to VinceAnne singing some love song was hilarious.

I saw Emery and waved, then hurried over to catch up to her. "What is going on?" I asked as a guy in a suit walked by holding a dozen roses, white candy box and a tiara.

"It's the annual winter dance," she said. "It's a tradition: we don't get a white Christmas, so we welcome in winter with a dance. You pin Christmas lights and glow sticks into your outfit so you shine and glow, sparklies in your hair, rhinestones and well, anything to shine, sparkle and glow. It's fun."

"Like a costume party?" I asked as a guy carrying a bouquet of mums in the shape of a teddy bear decorated with rhinestones, walked around us and strode down the hallway. Everywhere I looked inside the school, throughout the halls, on the walls, widows, lockers, and even hanging from the ceiling were hundreds of sparkling snowflakes.

"No, not a costume party," she said as a girl in what I think was a snow fairy or frost fairy costume was being told by Miss Garcia that her outfit was not compliant to the school dress code and she had to go home and change.

Two girls squealed in excitement, one holding a large glittery snowman card as she bounced.

"It's semi-formal, so you'd dress nice," Emery was saying, "girls wear a party dress, the guys in suits or their best shirts and pants."

"Embellished with Christmas lights, glow sticks, rhinestones and things that sparkle," I stated.

"Yep," Emery said, grinning.

She was watching a girl writing, _Be My Flake_, on a locker with a whiteout pen, (on a space not already covered with little whiteout stars) and literally collided with Roman, both gasping, "Oh," as Roman reached out to steady her.

"Sorry," Emery stammered. "Hi."

"Hey," Roman said, and I laughed quietly to myself at how awkward it was between them now.

"Ah," Emery muttered and then looked around nervously. Nope, not awkward at all.

"Every year students come up with elaborate ways to ask each other to the Winter Blast dance," she explained to him.

"Well, that explains why I saw Frosty the Snowman at the urinal practicing Shakespeare," Roman said, and I snickered. "And you guys think our traditions are bizarre?"

"How is the Sector?" Emery asked, "Are you… safe?"

"You don't really have to worry about me anymore," he said.

"Your Uncle Castor is a homicidal maniac; your terrorist ex-girlfriend drugged you, so…" Emery said. "Yeah, I worry."

"Emery," Roman said, and I took that as my cue to slip away to my locker, but not before is heard him say, "You're the one that said we'd be better off apart. Have fun at the dance." Ouch.

I glanced at Emery, but she smiled at me even though I knew his comment hurt her. "He's just hurting, too," I said when she walked up to me.

"I know, but I had hoped we could still be friends," she said.

"Give him some time," I said. "You've been through so much, he just needs time to adjust, that's all."

"It took you ten years to reconnect with him," Julia said as she approached, "and ten seconds for you to dump him."

"If we were together his people would question his loyalty, and it's hard to compete with the future of an entire race," Emery said in his defense.

I thought she was being too magnanimous. "It's the fact that he kept it secret, not that he formed a relationship – although, my people are not ready to accept human-Atrian mixing either – at least not romantically," I said, knowing she was technically right, but I wanted to be supportive of her feelings.

"Look, I know you're bummed, but you need a Roman holiday and the Winter Blast is the first opportunity to do that," Julia said, her smile and optimism had to make Emery feel better.

"I don't have a date," Emery said.

Course I didn't either, but I did have a few young males to pick from.

Julia said, "Em, I need you there – both of you," she looked at me, then back at Emery. "Every year they get one new student to sing at the dance, and Taylor tapped me."

Oh, bummer – can she sing, did she want to do it? She begged Emery to come, adding, "Going solo is very now."

"Says the girl with a date," Emery said.

Julia had just told us that she didn't have one yet when Erik showed up, asked her if she wanted to go to the dance, kissed her when she said, "Duh, yes," and walked off.

"Direct and to the point," Emery said. "I like it."

Julia made a cute shrug. "Yeah, he's a no frills kind of guy."

I was happy for her. Though if Emery didn't have a date by the end of the day, I would suggest she let me match her up.

In English, Taylor remained facing the front of the class, even though Miss Garcia was walking along the windows as she lectured. Drake acted as if he were totally disinterested, much like he used to the first weeks of school, pointedly ignoring Taylor, and me as well, because he looked away each time he caught me looking at him.

In chem, Drake was leaning back in his seat, but he had his leg under his desk and not in my way at all. He did look up at me, his pen pressed to his lower lip as I walked by, but when I looked at him, he glanced away and sat up straighter. So our little daily interaction was not happening again. For some reason that hurt, and I wondered what was going on with him.

I was exchanging things in my locker during the break when I saw Roman and Drake in the corridor, and they looked like they were discussing something serious. I hoped there wasn't a problem in the Sector.

Drake paused, staring pass me, and I turned wondering what caught his attention; it was Taylor, talking to her friends. She looked up at him as he stared at her and her smile faded. But then Drake simply walled off after Roman, and she turned her attention back to the girls, forcing a smile on her face, before she walked away in the other direction.

I wondered what was up with that. Had they broken it off? Had Drake decided he didn't want to continue a relationship with her, and she was broken up about it? I wasn't friends with Taylor, so asking her was out of the question, but if they had broken up, then maybe, in time, Drake might want to give us another try. But even I knew that was only wishful thinking – I'd had my shot, and I'd blown it. But still…

I found Emery, hoping she'd get my mind off the Drake/Taylor thing. But as the bell rang, Sophia walked up to Emery and me, looking worried. "Hey, I need to tell you something, and I don't know who to trust," she said, glancing around nervously.

Now what? I thought as Emery said, "Ah, yeah, what's wrong?" as she closed her locker.

"It's about Taylor," Sophia whispered, just loud enough for us both to hear. "I saw her just now in the parking lot crying," she paused, then looked at me. "Her tears – they were glowing."

I inhaled sharply. No! Sophia nodded. "You're sure?" I asked, and Sophia nodded again.

"Yes, it was unmistakable – they were bright blue," she said, confirming it.

Damn. I nodded slowly, my mind racing over what to do. Taylor was human and the father had to be Drake – none of the other Atrian guys in the school would have been with her – would they? She hadn't flirted with any other Atrian male – only him – and predatorily at that. My heart ached at the news, but there were bigger consequences to consider.

"I don't understand," Emery said, so Sophia explained.

"When fertilization occurs, our pituitary gland triggers a change in our hormones, much like it does in humans, producing the hormone that makes our tears glow and activating our hormone-secreting body in the female reproductive system called the wezekujac. The wezekujac creates pregnancy hormones and our women can experience emotional outbursts making us cry; the glowing tears are a signal to the woman to start taking better care of herself."

Wow she was really up on this. Good for her. But that didn't solve the problem of a human carrying a half-Atrian baby. I know, insensitive of me, but really, this was a mess. I tried not to show my feelings on my face, but so far I think Emery thought my expression was of concern for Taylor, and not the situation. I did feel sorry for Taylor, don't get me wrong… but this was a mess.

I wanted to speak to Taylor, but didn't know any way to broach the subject – we were not close enough to be confidants. In Biology, Taylor remained facing the front of the class, even though Mr. Espinoza, our substitute since Miss Benton had been arrested, was walking along the windows as he lectured. But I saw that every now and again, Drake stared at Taylor, and I could feel his sense of guilt again and remorse. Had she been the one to call off the relationship? But then her actions before had seemed as if _he'd _dumped _her_.

In History, I kept sneaking peeks at Drake, wondering if he knew that Taylor was pregnant. If he did it would certainly explain the sense of confliction, remorse and guilt, I kept reading from him: but if he didn't, was it over the break up or something else? I had seen Drake and Grayson talking before History, and it was obvious that whatever was said there was contention between them, some sort of conflict; Drake had been annoyed at Grayson, but they spoke confidently, bodies close and heads angled to each other's for several seconds before parting. Drake had acted as if nothing was amiss, and he didn't even acknowledge me as he walked by, but I could tell something was going on between them.

At lunch, I sought out Emery and Julia, finding Emery alone in the nutrition line. "Do you have a moment?" I asked her, grabbing an apple.

"Yeah, sure," she replied.

We were headed to a table when Sophia walked up to Emery and me. "I saw Taylor in the bathroom; she was crying again, but I calmed her down before anyone else saw her tears," Sophia said.

"Someone needs to tell her," I said. I hoped it would be Sophia, I didn't think I could be a comforting source to a girl who was carrying the child of the guy I still had feelings for. Thankfully, it was decided that Emery would tell Taylor that she was pregnant, and even though Sophia offered her support, I didn't. I sympathized, and well, it concerned me, but I wasn't as close to Taylor as the other two. All I did need to know was if she would choose to abort the baby or not. Humans did that, there were two clinics in town that performed abortions; I'd seen the protestors with their 'Abortion is Murder,' 'Choose Life' and 'Don't Kill the Innocent' signs, taunting and yelling at the young women who entered the clinics.

But if she kept the baby, I wondered if the baby would take after the Atrian father (it still hurt too much to even think of Drake as the father of Taylor's baby) or if the baby would be human like Taylor. Gads, what a mess. I wanted to talk to Drake, find out what he was going to do about this, but didn't dare.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Sophia and Emery went to The Bug after school to talk to Taylor, and Sophia asked me if I'd go, (actually she insisted) although, truthfully, I wasn't ready for this. But the glutton for punishment that I seemed to be lately, I went, against my better judgment. I convinced myself it was only to see if she intended to keep the baby or not. Oh, who was I kidding – I went because Sophia asked me to.

"Who knows I'm carrying a mutant baby in my stomach?" Taylor whispered as I approached with a pitcher of water for her.

Mutant baby? – grrrreat, I thought, irritated at her for the comment.

"Only you, me, Sophia and Maureen," Emery said. "And we need to keep it that way. If the Red Hawks find out they will parade you around as a race-mixing poster child."

Sophia walked up with a tray loaded with food. "I didn't know what to get so I hope you're in the mood for everything," she said.

"Oh, thank God, I'm starving," Taylor exclaimed, digging in, then spitting the food out and trying something else.

I looked around, hoping no one was paying us any attention. Discreet was not Taylor's forte.

I listened as Sophia explained, "Atrian pregnancies are a lot like human ones, but there are some differences, like being constantly thirsty. Atrian women have to drink two galleons a day just to stay hydrated."

"Since when did The Bug's food get so salty?" Taylor asked, throwing the fries back into the paper tray, apparently not listening to Sophia, ungrateful tart.

"Atrians are extra sensitive to salt, right?" Emery asked, and Sophia and I nodded.

"Oh, my God," Taylor exclaimed under her breath, low enough so as not to be overheard. "Am I turning into an Atrian?"

How dumb can you be? At least she was listening to Emery.

"No," Sophia said, glancing about quickly. "You're probably expressing Atrian traits to protect your baby."

"Can we stop talking about this as if it already exists?" Taylor asked, getting upset, and I wanted to strangle her.

Yes it exists, you conceited peahen. You're pregnant; your tears are glowing and your hormones are obviously changing – it's for real – you're pregnant! With a half human – half Atrian baby! Accept it all ready and decide what you are going to do! But I didn't say the words, I simply sipped on my glass of water.

But Taylor started to get upset and Emery and Sophia quickly tried to calm her down so she'd not start crying.

This was getting to be too much for me. I excused myself to the restroom. I stopped next to Sophia and whispered, "She needs wougine. It will help with the salt in the food." Then I left so I could dig in my bag for the herb. Nice person that I am. But really, if she was going to keep it, it might as well be a healthy half-breed, mixed trait – anatomically which one is questionable – _mutant_ baby.

I had just come back when I overheard Erik telling Emery that Grayson had started back up with the Red Hawks again, news that was not good to hear, as Roman and Drake entered The Bug.

Great, that's all we need, someone who considers Taylor a friend, who she might confide in, siding up with anti-race mixing zealots! I had to warn Sophia and Emery to tell Taylor to keep her trap shut around Grayson.

Erik said, "Look don't get me involved, I don't want anything to do with them," as I stared at Drake. Seeing him looking so sexy in his black sweater with the arms pushed up and wearing a pair of shorts made my heart ache.

I knew that he was the father of Taylor's baby, and that hurt enough; but he was so handsome, totally swoon worthy, and seeing him in the hallways every day, having to sit with him in chem and focus on the work instead of how hot he was, constantly running into him was torture since I knew I wasn't over him yet. Especially knowing what I knew.

Emery turned to see what I was staring at, and watched Roman walk to the counter with a concerned expression forming on her face.

"We should tell Taylor to keep away from Grayson," I suggested. But once the girl stated to show – the secret would be out anyway. Maybe she'd drop out of school.

"No, it will be fine," Emery said, but I looked at her wondering what she was thinking. Grayson's involvement with the Red Hawks and finding out Taylor's pregnant by Drake is not fine.

I looked up, and saw Drake approaching us. Why, why did he have to…? Why hadn't he thought about using protection? No, no point blaming him. He chose to – she had pursued him, a hunter after her prey, and he fell for it. It's not like we had a relationship – he'd tossed me aside at Dinaskyu once he realized I had deceived him by not telling him I was Tgorasad.

As Emery and I started walking back to our booth, I couldn't help but watch Drake as we drew closer, and our eyes locked on each other's. My heart skipped a beat, that lump dropped in my gut, and Drake, for a moment, had a look of regret before he lifted his head as he inhaled sharply and passed me.

"Drake," Emery called out to him just as he moved out of my line of sight. I turned, seeing Drake turn, looking at Emery and then at me. This was getting to be too much for me, especially when he kept looking me in the eyes, those incredible blue eyes. I didn't need this, especially when I really had to get over him and move on. If I could.

"What happened to Roman? Is that blood on his shirt?" Emery asked.

His gaze dropped to Emery's face as he responded, "I don't want to get in the middle between you two. You should talk to him yourself."

I moved to walk away but Sophia stopped me. "Taylor wants to go," she said as I handed her the herb.

"Okay," I said, thinking, so do I as she walked up to Emery and Drake. "Hey, Taylor really wants to leave, like now," she told Emery.

"Okay, I'll meet you outside," Emery said. Drake looked at Taylor, who quickly turned her back on us.

"Uh," he said, turning back to Emery. "Is everything all right with your friend, Taylor?"

"Ah," Emery stalled, and I wanted to say, 'No.'

Emery turned to face him as I walked off with Sophia.

Taylor was pacing in the entrance. "I have to go," I told Sophia, regretting being a prick, but I needed to get my distance or I'd knew I'd start to cry.

~~~~~o~~~~~

"Probably both human and Atrian physiological traits," Loraine said.

We were both sitting crossed-legged, facing each other on my bed. Yes, I confided in Loraine; I confided everything to Loraine, but she's amazing at keeping things to herself, especially if I told her it was strictly confidential. "She's exhibiting Atrian traits to protect the baby," I said.

"So, more Atrian than human, perhaps. Are you going to tell the elders?" Loraine asked.

I should, I really really should, but for some reason I was holding back. "Not yet," I said. "I'm not at all sure what Taylor is going to do. Statistics indicate she could abort, unless she's religious and opts to keep it."

"Then what?" Loraine asked. "She can't keep her pregnancy a secret for long, let alone an Atrian–human hybrid baby; someone is going to notice and the Homeland Security as well as Child Social Services could get involved… Heck, the Red Hawks – this is exactly what they've been afraid of – race mixing, breeding out humans…"

"One baby is hardly a breeding program," I snapped. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for." I hugged my pillow on my lap. "This is why we decided to enforce the no human-Atrian sex rule."

"Every human movie involving an alien pregnancy ends badly!" Loraine stated, and I bit my lip remembering the old movies we'd seen on TV: _The __Gravidity, Salem's Parturiency_, _The Astronaut's Child_, and _The_ _Village of the Damned_ remake.

"And humans would likely kill the children – like in those movies," she said.

I know. _I know_.

~~~~~o~~~~~

That night we heard from Collier that there had been an attack on Roman's life. Apparently, an explosive device had been placed in Roman's canvas bag, and thankfully, he'd been suspicious enough to check it and toss it into a dumpster before it had gone off. The SEU pulled the dumpster out of the Sector, but found only remains of a cylinder piping like the kind used for the water supply and what could have been the remains of a timer.

Roman had spoken to the SEU and his Hwatab, and had been able to identify the individual that Roman thought had placed the bomb in his bag, but Castor gave the man an alibi.

However, the Hwatab didn't take Roman's claims too seriously, and I feared that his influence over his Iksen was weakening or possibly impaired by Castor's manipulations and carefully maligned politicking. I hoped not irrevocably.

~~~~~o~~~~~

I walked up to Roman at break the next day, "Thank goodness you're all right," I said, "What happened?"

"I'm fine," he said.

"I know that, and trust me I'm relieved that you are, but what happened? Did they arrest the guy?"

"No," he said, and I could tell he was angry about it.

"Do you know where the explosive device came from?"

He started to draw away from me. "Roman, I'm on your side – I think we want the same things. But if there is someone wanting to kill you, you need to have someone watching your back."

"He does; he has me," Drake stated.

"Scouts, a security group of some kind… You're too important to lose now," I said, not exactly ignoring Drake's comment, but I was too worried for Roman's safety. I think my words struck Roman because his expression softened and Drake's shoulder relaxed; I could actually feel Drake relax beside me.

"I'm fine – I'll be more cautious," Roman said.

"This time," I said. Why are men so pigheaded? "Okay, I heard that you saw or have a good idea who placed it in your bag, but that the Hwatab didn't believe you. I do. But how did he get the device?"

"You tell us, apparently you already know what's going on," Drake stated.

"It was on the news! I have a person in the SEU," I told Drake, then looked at Roman. "Roman, this is serious!" I hissed. "If you know who did it, and you recognized the device, then why are you being so obtuse?"

"I'm not being obtuse," he said. I was finally getting a reaction out of him.

"You know it could have been far worse. How did you know that throwing it into the dumpster would be enough?" I asked Roman. "It could have shredded the dumpster and you with it."

Drake crossed his arms, getting defensive. "I saw it and I know it wasn't strong enough to rip up the dumpster," Roman admitted defensively.

"How did you know?" I persisted.

"It was one of the same type we used to destroy the black ciper," Roman admitted. I shot him a questioning glare. "It was one of my Uncle's devices."

"Castor has explosives?" I hissed. "And you're okay with that?"

"He told me he kept them for such purposes as..."

"To destroy dangerous plants," I said for him. "But this man, the one that planted it on you, how did he get one of your uncle's devices? Do you think he is a Trag?" I didn't like the idea that Castor had explosives, but he'd shown them to Roman, and possibly Drake, so it was very unlikely that he'd use one of his own devices to kill Roman. I didn't trust Castor, though. I knew too much about his role in the dissent and munity on board the ARDhet.

"I don't – he is one of my uncle's men," Roman admitted.

Oh that was not good. Not good at all. Could Castor be that threatened by Roman to want to kill him? "Can I help in anyway?" I bit my lip as I looked up at him. "We can put some scouts in the Sector maybe, to help you."

"And how will you do that?" Drake asked.

"I dunno, hack into the SEU computers, add a few names to the database, sneak them in somehow, and if you can find an empty pod near yours, Roman, they will be there to watch over you, protect your back… Strazhic ochrikujen – Iksen guards. I have mine, so does Ihmen – all our Iksen do," I suggested. "Make Drake your Ochrokaje, he can be in charge of your guards."

I could tell that Drake liked that idea, being Roman's Ochrokaje. "We have some Vwasak who have been training with the Zæsak, but they still have their markings. I'll talk to Ian about placing them in here."

"I'll be fine," Roman said.

"If you change your mind, let me know," I said and hurried off to class.

~~~~~o~~~~~

At school the next day, Taylor's dance committee was decorating with more glittery, shiny and frosty-looking snowflakes. More. Everywhere. I suppose if you can't have real snow – use a lot of huge snowflakes instead.

At home, several of the girls had been invited to my unit for pizza with my roommates and me, and I appealed to the them that I need to ask someone to the dance. "Not just anyone, someone who I could actually dance, who'd turn heads," I suggested.

"And make the girls jealous?" Catlin asked, giggling.

Well, Drake, I thought, although that's a lost cause.

Amilee thought it a good idea to have her boyfriend, Ethan, do it.

"Ethan?" Okay he's cute, Collin Wellington cute (a current actor/model/heart throb amazingly handsome cute) with dark wavy hair that always looked perfect, sapphire blue eyes and a prefect swimsuit amazing body, and according to the girls, he had and killer smile that could be a make-you-swoon type.

But I knew him as the boy who used to stick frogs down my top or in my bed (snakes too) and put mud in my hair growing up. He wasn't a bully, not really, and _now_ he was a decent guy, but growing up with him in the same house, and now in the same apartment building two doors down from mine, I knew him too well. An older, pain-in-the-ass brother-like too well.

However, I did ask Ethan to be my date, and he said yes.

Quinn, his twin brother, agreed to take Loraine, and I knew that together, they would make sure that we had an amazing time. Since they didn't want to ask human girls, Justin asked Amilee, Jason asked her friend Krista, and Byron was taking Felicia, one of the Dævas girls learning Atrian healing under our physicians. I even knew that Gareth, Mason and Arnund were taking girls from our tribes, two of them who were going to use Fiebings leather dyes to blend out their markings for the night. I knew that Tory, Catlin and Morin, my other roommates, were going to come as well, sneaking in with three of the unmarked younger scouts. Besides, who'd notice?

One of our chemists made thin glow strings in various colors for us to decorate our dresses, and a few of the electricians made each girl a dozen little sparking snowflakes and star pins that lit up and flashed as we moved. We were going shine, glitter and glow, exactly as Emery said we should.

I even had a few made up as hair clips.

Loraine, Amilee, Krista and I spent an evening picking out dresses and designing where to put the lighting and snowflakes. Loraine was going to wear a light moss green sexy sheath dress with triangle cutouts on the neckline and a slight flare to the skirt hem, and Amilee was going to wear the aqua wrap dress with a low V-neck covered in metallic silver embellishments that Loraine had bought in the little boutique in town. Krista had a pale blue dress with a swishy skirt.

I chose my black dress that had the lace bodice and super-flattering silhouette that I'd bought and finally had a reason to wear. I lined the V-neck front and back with glow strings. I was going to have to glue stars and snowflakes on my back to hide the markings that were visible, but I was getting excited about the dance. I wondered if Drake would be there.

And we practiced with makeup and went shopping for the perfect shoes. I wanted to make this night memorable and hopefully make an impression on a certain Vwasak warrior.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The afternoon of the dance, Loraine, Amilee, Krista and I spent hours getting ready: scented bath oils, hair rollers/hot irons, nail polish, hosiery, perfume, teeth whitening strips – the works – and of course, red carpet worthy makeup application. When we were finally ready, I called Justin and Ethan and told him we'd meet them in the apartment foyer. When we walked off the elevator, the looks we got made me, and I'm sure the other girls, feel giddy, even though we played it off with polite 'thank you's.

"Wow, look at you – you look amazing," Jason proclaimed. "You're definitely going to get the attention of that muscle bound Vwasak."

"Hey, she's my date," Ethan said as he gave me his arm. Still, I'm glad we impressed them. I was hoping to turn heads and be noticed. Yes, even by a well-muscled Vwasak.

We arrived a half hour late to the Winter Blast as the dance was just getting started. There were a few people already dancing, but most were talking to friends and mingling on the side lines.

I spotted Emery and Julia by the punch bowl. I wondered where Erik was as I introduced Ethan, Quinn, Amilee and Krista to my friends.

"Well, wish me luck, I have to go warm up," Julia said with a shrug and walked off. I was amazed; if she was nervous, it didn't show at all.

"Good luck," Emery yelled after her.

I saw Sophia and wanted to introduce her to my friends as well. "Nice to meet you," Sophia said, shaking each hand, and giving me a silent 'Wow.' "Your cousins?" Sophia asked me.

"Well if you mean that I grew up with them, shared alligator sushi and lived in the same houses, now in the same apartment building – yes, they are my cousins," I said with a grin. "Ethan and Quinn are Cæveh; Krista is Dævas, and Amilee is of my tribe."

"I'm Zwahan," she said, not that they didn't know she was Nox's daughter-Roman's sister, but it was cute.

Emery came up to us and pulled me and Sophia aside. "Have you seen Taylor?" she asked. "We need to keep her out of the spotlight; I think the Red Hawks might be on to her."

"HELLO MARSHALL," came Taylor's voice over the loud speakers. "_Whoooaah!_" We turned to see her on the stage with a microphone in hand. The crowd started clapping and cheering, obviously ready to party.

"Too late," Sophia said.

"I'm Taylor Beecham, but you know that already," she said. "Now who is here to get WINTER BLASTED?!"

The crowd cheered, whooted, and clapped, getting even more excited.

"You all know the tradition, right? Every year we have—" Taylor stopped, staring at something – or someone. I turned, seeing Roman and Drake standing in back of the room (Roman in a white tank and light tan sweater with lights on his sleeves, Drake in a white and black stripped tank with a black zip up fleece with lights on the zipper sides), and like Taylor, I felt my world pause. He was here. I don't know why I was surprised he was here, but seeing him standing there, looking at Taylor, made my heart seem to pause in my chest.

The entire room was silent as the two Atrians moved forward into the room.

"A song, sung by one of our students," Taylor said, breaking the moment. I turned to the stage as did everyone else. "And it is my pleasure to introduce," Taylor said, building up the momentum in her voice and becoming the bright center of attention she'd been before Roman and Drake arrived. "Julia Yeung. _Whooooo!_"

Julia suddenly looked nervous as she stood on the stage, and she froze up during the beginning of her song, _I Want To Kiss You All Over_, and for a moment I panicked for her.

"Should we?" I asked Loraine, but I wasn't sure. Loraine and I normally loved to sing, but we had strong voices with the wide vocal range and clear resonance ability typical of Sævad singers.

Loraine shrugged, but Amilee mouthed, 'No.'

Then suddenly Erik started singing, and everyone parted, and the DJ put a spotlight on him as he approached the stage. Julia and he continued to sing as he joined her onstage for a duet, helping her through it. They looked adorable together, and from that moment, Julia was all smiles and happy.

When the music started up, I saw Lukas 'spinning' tunes with the DJ. Ethan asked me if I wanted to dance, and Quinn nudged Loraine. I quickly turned to Justin and Jason, who were trying to avoid Amilee and Krista's eyes. "It's a dance," I told them as I crooked a finger at them. "That means you have to dance."

Jason rolled his eyes, but the eight of us went out to the dance floor together. I saw Sophia standing alone and rushed over to drag her out on the floor with us. Ethan and Quinn loved it, dancing with three girls.

It was a fun mix of dance songs, and at some point Julia and Erik joined us, enlarging the circle. Ethan took my hands as the music changed and led me in one of the Cæveh dance steps, a version of a electric slide and swing, I suppose, and Quinn danced with Sophia and Loraine. It was fun. Every now and again, as I turned while dancing, I spotted Drake and Roman standing on the side of the dance floor, watching us. "Yes, your Vwasak warrior is watching," Ethan said in my ear before dipping me. I laughed – a surprised reaction to being dipped.

Quinn and Loraine parted, Quinn dancing with Julia and Loraine trying to do the dance steps with Erik. It was fun, turning and spinning, and Ethan did in fact turn out to be a fun dance partner. When he dipped me at the end of the song, I caught Drake's gaze, and Ethan held me for a heartbeat before pulling me up into his arms. He kissed the corner of my mouth. "You got what you wanted."

I pulled back and looked at him. "He hasn't taken his eyes off you for the last few songs," Ethan purred in my ear.

"It's all set," Quinn said. "You really want to get him going?"

I creased my forehead in confusion only catching part of what he'd said. What? "No, I don't want to go," I said, shaking my head. "I'm having fun."

He laughed. "I mean, to show these humans how hot our Cæveh women can be?" Ethan said.

"What did you do?" I asked.

The DJ started to play, _In the Air Tonight_. It was an oldie, but a good one to dance to."Did you?" I asked, amazed.

"Naturally," Quinn said, "Now, let's see if you can dance to impress."

Julia was forced out with us as Loraine, Amilee and Krista came together on the dance floor. The music is tame at first, then there's that great drum bit comes in, changing the template of the song. I admit, my inner Cæveh came out, using some of their ritual moves to the music.

Julia tried copying us, and she was doing a pretty good job too, and we just let ourselves move and gyrate to the music. Several human girls tried to join in, some couples likewise undulating to the music, the sensuous style of the Cæveh dance to celebrate being a woman and our rite of passage into fertility..

I know that the DJ was watching us, because he played an old Shakira tune with a rock-middle Eastern flair. Not far, I could see Tory, Catlin and Morin and the other girls from my apartment dancing the old Cæveh ritual moves with the other seniors, although the three scouts remained stubbornly on the sidelines watching.

I saw Drake standing nine feet away, and tried to make him jealous with the sensuous and provocative moves. It was easy to get lost in the music this way, just letting my body move and flow, rolling and undulating my hips and abdomen with my arms elevated, making the little wrist flourishes in time to the music. Emery tried the dance, encouraged by Ethan, as was Sophia, getting quite a few stares themselves. But it was fun.

Ethan took my hand as the music slowed. I waved a Emery who was slow dancing with Grayson, then at Julia and Erik.

I saw Taylor approach Drake, and Roman walked off. Drake shook his head, and turned to walk away and then froze, turning to face her. Taylor nodded and turned to go, but Drake grabbed her arm, making her face him again.

"C'mon. Forget him. Let's dance," Ethan said, pulling me to him as the music slowed. "The best revenge is to have a great time with a really hot guy." He was right, but still…

We did a turn, and I laughed, continuing to slow dance with Ethan. He dipped me again as the song ended, pulled me close and kissed my cheek. Behind him, I saw Drake follow Taylor out of the room. And even though I was smiling, my heart felt like a lump in my chest.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next morning before I left for the houses, Byron knocked on my door. "Brant is still missing, but Zoeda has resurfaced, and we still haven't found the cube," he said without preamble as I let him in.

"Good morning to you, too," Catlin said as she and Tory stepped out of the kitchen in their pajamas. I smirked at them as they shrugged and walked back to their room. Things like this happen when you're the roommate of an Iksen.

"There was a stash of explosives in Castor's pod; Collier told me early this morning," I told him. "Someone blew up Iwabass greenhouse last night, and Vega is out for blood, but her Iksen is, so far, keeping the peace in her section. The leaders revoked Castor's position in the Hwatab, and it looks like Romans is going to be Zwahan Iksen."

"Let's hope you're right about him," Byron said. "So far he hasn't been too well abreast of what's really going on."

"Then we will have to help him," I stated. "I need for the Gareth, Mason and Arnund to watch his back, too. Have Dunon befriend him and or Drake as well; he will have to let them know he is Vwasak. I'll inform Ian to get some of the Zæsak and Vwasak warriors into the Sector. Roman has been left unprotected for far too long – that has to change."

"I'll talk to Dunon, Gareth, Mason and Arnund myself and see what they can do – but they feel that _you_ are their primary responsibility," he said and left.

I closed the door and went to finish dressing.

**Notes**:

emmabou, _I'd have responded to your review, but couldn't; so, to you and others who want Drake and Mahureen to get together and Taylor not getting preg – I'm sorry. But it's going to serve my purpose later. And as most all high school relationships go, short lived and burn hot – and one or two will come to their senses, I promise you_.


	13. Chapter 13

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 12 ("This Trick May Chance to Scathe You")

I was working in a classroom with Emery and Grayson, painting closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam pieces humans called styrofoam, with gold glitter for the float, when I looked up and saw Drake and Roman stop outside the windows. I quickly looked away when I saw Drake looking right at me, then glanced up, wondering what they were talking about. Whatever it was, Roman was shaking his head as Drake seemed to be trying to convince him… I hoped it wasn't a problem in the Sector. However, if it wasn't, it wasn't my concern, I thought as I tried to focus my attention on the 'M' in my hands. Besides, they could be arguing about the situation between Drake and Taylor and _that_ certainly wasn't my concern, not really.

But as I set down one styrofoam letter, now completely coated with a thick layer of glittery gold, and reached for another piece, Roman looked in my direction – well, mine and Emery's. He turned, yelling something after Drake as Drake walked back the way they'd come.

Interesting. Something was up, and I fought back my natural instinct to have to know what. If it was about Drake, Taylor and the baby I didn't want to know. At some point, Taylor, if she was going to keep the baby, was going to have to move into the Sector – Homeland Security and the SEU wouldn't allow Drake to move _out _of the Sector. But, again, that was Roman's problem to solve, not mine – unless Roman asked me for help, which I hoped he wouldn't, but he could. However, I couldn't see Taylor putting up with our restrictions at the houses, and she'd definitely hate living in Negea considering it was _under_the swamp water in the bayou.

I sighed to myself as Roman followed him. I picked up the shaker of gold glitter to coat the 'U' piece.

Suddenly, Drake kicked the doorjamb out from under the door and walked in, followed by Roman who let the door close behind him. Drake grabbed a stool and sat down next to Grayson. "Can you give us a minute?" he asked Emery and me as Roman leaned against a partition.

"I'm not going anywhere," Emery stated, voicing my own thoughts.

"Yeah, anything you have to say to me you can say her," Grayson said, then looked at me.

"Nope, staying," I said as Roman said, "Drake, didn't you hear, Emery is a Red Hawk now."

"That's not true," Emery said.

Roman grit his teeth and looked away.

"Maureen, this doesn't involve you," Drake told me.

"Oh, I don't know about that – she's the one person in this room who should hear this," Roman said as Drake glanced at him as if to ask, 'Why?' Roman's tone could almost be considered sarcastic, only I could tell that whatever this was about, it was something serious.

Emery asked, "What is this about?"

However, Drake looked directly at Grayson. "You've been leaning on me for weeks for information on the Trags," he said. "I think I got something for you."

The Trags? Now I was scared. Roman looked directly at me and nodded once. Shit – what now?

"I'm listening," Grayson said.

Drake stood. "Trags built a weapon, something called a Suvek," he said as he sat on the table next to Grayson, his back to me, not that I didn't have a good view of his face, angled as he was. "We think it's some kind of a bomb."

"A bomb," Emery repeated, astounded, echoing my own thoughts of: Suvek… a blast, a blaze, burst, a flare – **a** **bomb**?

"We tried to destroy it – it didn't work," Roman stated.

What? When?

"So why are you telling me this?" Grayson asked as Emery moved closer to him.

I could sense Drake's growing irritation at Grayson's attitude and his hands gripped the table making his knuckles whiten. "Because we have a plan B," Drake stated, his voice even and, like any Vwasak leader, firm. "We're going to steal the Suvek from the Trags, and we need your help."

"Why not tell the SEU?" Emery asked as I moved around to her side of table.

"The SEU is a leaky ship," Roman said. "They have informants on the inside."

I knew that, but then I had people in the SEU now as well: Collier, a human contact, and Ryuta, a Zæsak who dyed his skin so he could be insinuated within the Patrol Division, and Roathy, a Dævas who also dyed her skin and went by the name Ruthy in the clerical/IT offices.

"It's true; when I was a Trag, Vega always knew ahead of time when the SEU were going to stage a raid," Drake admitted.

So, he isn't a Trag anymore? How? When did he quit?

"Besides, they could hold all Atrians accountable," Roman said.

"Kiss integration goodbye," Drake stated.

"Unless that is what you and your Red Hawks really want," Roman said to Grayson snidely.

"No, what I want is to go back to the part where you said you were a Trag," Grayson said as he got up and Drake's hand rose as if to say, 'of course'.

"How do I know this isn't a Trag plot?" Grayson asked.

I had the sudden urge to want to strangle him – sensing that Drake did, too. "If he was a Trag, do you really think he'd be sitting here telling us about this Suvek thing instead of helping the Trags with their plot?" I said, trying to get him to see reason.

"Yeah, but he just said…" Grayson said, and Drake looked as if he was ready to give up on asking for our help. I could literally feel him – he was ready to bolt… I could follow him, maybe take him to meet Ian and…

"Stop it, I'm no more a Red Hawk than Drake and Roman are Trags," Emery piped up. "And Grayson doesn't want the integration program to end any more than you do. If you'd all lower the testosterone down a notch you'd see that we all want the same thing here." Bravo, girl.

The problem was how to smuggle this thing out of the Sector. I had no idea. I did know that once I had it, I could get it dismantled and told Roman so. However, Roman suggested handing it over to Gloria and let the government deal with it. "Which would mean that the government, Homeland Security _and_ the military would be alerted! Good bye integration, hello martial law," I reminded him.

Grayson shook his head. "It won't come to that," he said, but I felt skeptical.

"Did you really want to let them know that Atrians have the capabilities to even build a bomb?" I asked.

"The point is to get rid of it and prove that we don't abide this sort of violence. It's a show of good will," Roman stated, but I still didn't agree with him, but this was his call.

Then Emery suggested using the float as a means to smuggle it out.

Okay so we had a plan for getting it out, but I still wanted to dismantle it in the bayou without involving the American government or military, but Roman, for some reason, wanted to hand it over to the authorities, so I relented.

That night, we met at The Bug as the dinner crowd was winding down. Even though Drake wanted to keep this as a small unit mission, Grayson had included Lukas in this, and Roman had included Sophia. I'd brought Justin (who trained to be a scout in his 'free' time) and Tyson (who was really tech savvy and good with electrical things), considering they were my best option for operational support, (although I knew that I could get others to help.)

I spoke to Roman and Drake as we waited for Emery to show up. "I asked, but no one knew what the Suvek is," I told them. Drake glanced at me, and I could tell he was annoyed. "No, I didn't say there was one, I only said I had heard the word and wanted to know what it is. Its flash or a blast flash, is all I got, but one of my engineers thought it could be like an electromagnetic pulse flash, something that could wipe out electronic communications and possibly electronic data. But that would only be effective in a major city – not someplace small like Edendale."

"So he could be wrong?" Roman asked as Emery arrived in The Bug.

"I don't know; all such scenarios for an electromagnetic pulse flash would have to be at a certain altitude and you'd need far more than one – one would only affect an area of maybe 100 to 150 square miles or so; so you'd need hundreds to make a major impact."

"That would still take out the whole town," Grayson stated and I shrugged, knowing he was right.

"Yes, but communication devices could be operational in a matter of an hour or less, depending on exactly how the grid is set up and if the switch boxes remained intact; if the switch boxes blew… but EMS systems would activate, and military communications would be reestablished much sooner than that," I pointed out.

"Let's concentrate on getting it out," Roman said.

Emery explained that she got Gloria to arrange for the Unity Float to be finished in the Sector, to promote integration.

"Nothing says unity like dismantling an Atrian terrorist plot together," Grayson said cheekily.

Drake shifted in his seat, not happy with his comment. Nor was I; this was serious.

"I knew the Trags were vicious, but I never thought that they would go this far," Sophia said.

"We had those black ciper incidents, remember?" I reminded her. "Lukas got the brunt of one," I looked up at him. "I'm glad it worked out, and he's all right now."

"Think of it this way; if we fail and the Trags detonate that thing, a whole lot of people are going to end up dead," Grayson stated.

"And now this Sumac thing is going to wipe us all out? Why aren't we going to the police about this?" Lukas asked.

"Suvek, and even if the police believe us, there will be all kinds of Atrian backlash, not just the Trags," Roman stated.

"How many people know about this?" Sophia asked.

"Just us," Drake said, glancing at me, and I gave him an embarrassed, half smile with a minute shrug of a shoulder. "Safest that way," he said, staring at me.

"So don't go phoning your Red Hawk pals," Roman said to Grayson. Except I planned on having a few of my guys along, and I had already alerted Ian and his Zæsak scouts. Byron, Sephen and Rayne told me they'd be on hand on the outside if I needed it.

The biggest concern I had was how we'd get it away from the Trags and Vega. Drake pulled out a map. He began to outline what he and Roman came up with as Roman asked to speak to Emery alone.

I listened intently to Drake, trying to keep my attention on the task and not on him. It was getting easier, but watching Drake break down the separate parts, assigning who would carry out which task, and identify the sections where the Trags were most likely to have the Suvek and where they'd move it to, was so impressive. He really was a warrior, so assured, taking command of the mission, and it mesmerized me. Yes, things could go wrong, but he'd figured out contingencies and backup plans as well. Really impressive.

I pulled Roman aside after the meeting. "Can I give you a lift back?" I asked.

"Yeah, that will be great," he said, checking his watch, and although I had hoped to use the drive to talk to him, he told Sophia and Drake I was driving them to the Sector.

As I pulled away from The Bug, I thought it safe to tell him of my back up. "I have other's willing to help, and I have three Zæsak scouts and a Vwasak fighter who are coming, plus four more will be available as well if we need them."

"You did what?" Drake asked, but I continued, "Roman, all of them have been told you and Drake are in charge and to follow your orders. Travis and Tyson, said they'd help, too. Tyson's really tech savvy, like Lukas, so they will be on hand if you need them. Also, there will be several others with me on the committee who will help me finish the float so it looks like we did what we're supposed to be doing, and likewise, be avail for what is needed." Yes, they were all young, but having adults with the float would be too conspicuous.

"Is it wise, having so many of them in the Sector?" Sophia asked.

"With all of you leaving to get the Suvek and all, there has to be enough people to actually _do_ the decorating or Gloria will be suspicious; not to mention Taylor will have a fit if it's not done to her satisfaction," I said, and Drake huffed a laugh.

"But what if you're recognized?" Sophia asked. "You were last time."

"If we are, it will show your people that we support Roman and that there is unity between the Tgorasad and the Itrejivil Iksens," I said. "If we're not, Roman and Drake will have trained scouts to watch their backs."

"I don't need your scouts," Drake said.

"I hope you don't," I said, turning on the hwy. "But they will be there as your backup anyway."

Drake still didn't look convinced. He sat back with his arms crossed, looking out the window. Oh well.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day, Loraine, Justin, Amilee and I drove to the Sector behind the float. "Now remember, if you're recognized, warn the person to be discreet and remember their name," I reminded them as I parked the car.

"I know! Remember the names – don't write them down," Loraine said.

"Good thing _you've_ a memory for names," Justin whined, as Jason, Krista, Travis and Tyson pulled up next to us. "How am I supposed to remember them all if I can't write them down?"

"Improvise, adapt and overcome, solider," Amilee chided him, and he gave her a one-sided smirk.

As Quinn and Ethan approached my car, I saw that Dunon, Gareth, Mason and Arnund had arrived. "This is the most asinine idea you've ever had," Quinn stated, looking around as if expecting to get caught. "We're sure to be recognized!"

"Well, don't deny it if you are," I said, locking the door. "And don't forget to introduce yourselves to Roman and Drake so they know who you are."

"Shake hands, memorize names, back up Roman and Drake, and watch out for Trags bearing Suvek's," Justin sneered. "I suppose we're to kiss babies too?"

"Zemkal atrzymak igel," I hissed quietly but firmly, telling him to 'stop it' and 'shut up'. I know it's rude, but geeeze – if he didn't want to do this then why'd he agree to come?

But Ethan said, in his jovial tone, "Nope, you also get to slop paint, splatter glitter, and tack and glue stuff on a paper mache and polystyrene float! Kissing babies is totally optional."

"Good news is we get to kick some Trag buts," Jason, my nerdy cousin replied.

I rolled my eyes as I headed for the gate and the girls hurried after me. We each showed our IDs to the SEU guards before walking into the Sector. Amilee, Krista, Travis and Tyson stayed close, slightly apprehensive about this endeavor, but I assured them we'd be all right. The nine of us entered the main street of the Sector with them in tow, however, Ethan stopped and waited for the other four to clear security. I stopped, holding up our group until we were all together again.

As we walked to the area where the float would be finished, Amilee, Krista, Travis and Tyson looked around in wonder as Loraine and Justin pointed out various things they remembered from their day in the Sector, but Quinn and Ethan kept their heads down. I looked behind me and saw that the other guys I'd brought were likewise trying to keep their heads down. Great, not suspicious at all… "Quinn, the way they are stooping, trying to look inconspicuous is, well, they look suspect, as if they _are _hiding something!"

"What do you want me to tell them – smile and wave?" he asked sarcastically.

"No, that will attract attention," I said. "They should act normal as if they have every reason to be here – which in fact they do."

He shot me an incredulous glare.

"We've permission to be here and a job to do. If they need something to focus on, go divide the men and assign backup for Roman and Drake, and keep a watch on Emery and Grayson. They could be made a target and I don't want either human killed if it can be avoided," I told him.

"Anything else you want me to do for you?" he asked as I shook his comment off and led the others to the float.

Krista, Amilee, Travis and Tyson were too busy gawking at the sights of the Sector, but Loraine and I approached Emery and asked where we should be. "I've a bunch of my people here to help: Justin, Dunon, Gareth, Mason, Arnund, Quinn and Ethan are going to back up Roman, Drake and Grayson," I said and pointed out the seven I'd brought as muscle who were standing in a cluster, glancing around, surveying the scene as if looking at all the places where we could be ambushed or something. They were scouts, for crying out loud – what were they afraid of? "The rest of us," I said, indicating the small group Jason was playing 'tour guide' to, "will stay with the float and get as much done as possible."

"Good to know," she said with a chuffed laugh. I suppose if you went on appearances alone we were not an impressive lot, but I knew that Dunon, Gareth, Mason and Arnund would be good in a fight, and Justin, Quinn and Ethan were no slackers either. The Zæsak trainers believed in basic strength and endurance conditioning training starting at age eight and increased in intensity beginning at age eleven that tested physical stamina, mental tenacity, leadership skills and true teamwork. By seventeen, scouts began solider or seaman training in hopes of gaining warrior status. It was rigorous, either route they chose. Those who chose support options went through what were called trade training and usually were the ones who became workers, trades specialists and management within the tribe.

"The guys are tougher than they look," I told Emery as I was handed a can of purple paint and a brush.

I walked up to my guys. "Stay up front; we're waiting on Roman."

Gareth nodded and took control, and I smiled. Now they were coming around. Gareth, Ethan and I joined the group at the tusks; Mason, Arnund, Dunon and Justin stayed near the front half of the float, and the others took up tasks also.

We worked on the float until Roman returned. Roman looked at Gareth and Ethan questioningly, but his eyes narrowed and his brow creased as Mason, Arnund and Dunon approached, so I quickly introduced them to everyone. However, Drake was watching Ethan speculatively.

"Too bad we can't fight off the Trags with paper mache," Lukas said, and beside me, Ethan nudged his shoulder into mine.

"So how do we find the Suvek?" Grayson asked, taking Drake's attention off Ethan and me.

"Ever since the explosion, the Trags have been loading up on supplies," Roman said. "They will be stocking a new base camp."

"We know which quadrant it's in – we just don't know its exact location," Drake said as he looked at Ethan, then turned his head. "Good news is they have no idea we're on to them."

The plan was hardly simple, and it a few factors that could make it all go bottom up if anything went wrong: Roman and Grayson would go to the marketplace and follow a known Trag, hoping to get lucky. Drake was going to talk to his mom for information about the Suvek. Sophia was to go to the SEU once the location was known. We were counting on the Trags in the SEU to warn Vega and force her to move the Suvek. Emery, Lukas and Sophia were to take a dumpster and hopefully exchange it for the one the Trags should use to move the Suvek.

If they used a dumpster; Drake was certain they would. The rest of us had to be ready to go the moment everyone came back.

Emery wanted to go with Roman, but he refused, and I agreed with him. I put my hand on her back as Drake, Grayson and Roman left (followed casually by Gareth, Mason and Arnund), and said to her, "Emery, he's right. We wait. But don't worry, Gareth, Mason and Arnund are Zæsak soldiers," I nodded toward the three that walked casually after Roman, slightly exaggerating their training level. "They will watch after Roman, Drake and Grayson. If they look familiar, they've been posing as seniors in school, but they are like my bodyguards. Dunon is a Vwasak," I pointed at him, "who's been training with the scouts… He's to be my bodyguard as well."

She seemed to relax and nodded, turning to the others working on the float.

But I saw Drake tap Roman's shoulder, then turn and disappear from view. Dunon signaled to Justin and the two of them ran after him. Good, Roman and Grayson will be okay, and he'd have backup as well. That left Jason, Ethan and Quinn to watch over Emery, Loraine, Krista, Amilee and me; well unless you counted Travis and Tyson, too, but they were scrawny.

We got a call a half hour later from Grayson that he and Roman found the hideout. "Corridor D, through a green door, three blocks east of the market," Emery told Sophia and me.

Gareth called me a heartbeat later. "It's a pretty strong locker or bunker of some sort – not Atrian construction, or a shipping crate."

"Okay, keep him in sight and be ready," I told him, and he hung up. He never was one for small talk. I told Emery and Sophia what he said.

"I should go, we don't have much time," Sophia said, and I nodded.

I was torn; I wanted to go, but that wasn't my role. I had to keep the work going on the float and have it ready the moment we got the Suvek. Timing was everything. "I'll make sure things ready to roll for when you come back." I walked back to Loraine and the others working on the back of the float. "They found the device, and Sophia is on the move," I told Jason, Ethan and Loraine.

"This is so nerve wracking," Loraine said, tacking green metallic-tinsel fringe on the float. "How you like this intrigue stuff is beyond me."

"I have your back," Ethan told her as he followed behind her with gold metallic fringe.

"Keep everyone here working on the float so we get it done," I said. "But as soon as we have it, we're going to have to be ready to go." I helped Krista pin green, purple and gold tinsel garland along the top of the fringe while still allowing the Christmas lights to show.

Gareth called me back, and Amilee took over for me so I could answer my cell. "I'm with Grayson on top of the crates, no Roman."

"Okay, stay with Grayson," I said, and he hung up. Scouts, I thought with a roll of my eyes.

"Everything all right?" Emery asked.

"Yeah. Gareth called; he, Mason and Arnund are with Grayson on the crates," I said casually. I started tacking green fringe along the edge of the float under the wire of the Christmas lights. Travis and Tyson were right beside me, tacking the gold fringe and tri-colored garland over mine. I hated waiting, but as Iksen, I couldn't always be in the thick of things. I had to trust my men. Meheka would tell me that this was good practice – only it was real; a real danger and my friends were involved.

Emery got a call from Grayson. "It worked; it's on the move," she said.

"We'll be ready here," I promised. I signaled Jason and Quinn to go with Emery, Sophia and Lukas. "Keep them safe," I told them, and they helped push the dumpster toward the marketplace.

Loraine and I took opposite sides of the float and continued to tack fringe and garland according to the picture board. Several Itrejivil children wanted to help so we had them help keep the garland from tangling up as the we stapled it in place.

"Why does the elephant have markings," one of the girls asked, pointing to where others were applying glitter to the elephant's Atrian markings.

"Because he represents your kind," I responded, then grimaced when I realized she'd spoken in Sondiv. I pulled her aside. "Shhh, no one is supposed to know I know Sondiv. Don't tell; it's a secret. Can you keep a secret?"

"Uh huh," she said, nodding. She leaned toward me and whispered, "Are you Atrian?"

"I'm from the outside," I whispered back in Sondiv.

"From Elijda?" she whispered, her eyes going wide.

I shook my head, and she looked disappointed. "There are many Atrians hiding there. But if the SEU or any human finds out, they will blow it up and hurt everyone. You have to be quiet about this," I said softly.

"My mom is in Elijda," she whispered to me.

"What's your name?" I asked softly.

"Lily," she whispered. "What's yours?"

"Mahureen, I am Iksen for the Atrians on the outside; I protect them as best I can," I told her. "What's your mother's name?"

"Shanjra. Reelas says she will never come for me, but I know she's in Elijda," Lily said, while playing with a strand of her curly hair.

"I'll try to find a Shanjra with a daughter named Lily and tell her what a big girl you are. I know she will be so happy to know you are alive. But keep this a secret. Your mother's safety depends on you keeping your word," I said softly, hoping she would.

She crossed both her hearts, and as she ran off, a woman approached me. "That was foolish," she said in English. "Her mother was killed in the raid of the house we hid in. She was too small to remember."

"I didn't know," I said very softly in English, then switched to Sondiv again. "Tell others, there are people in hiding outside. As relations with humans improve, and Atrians can move about more freely, we will be able to help connect loved ones. But integration has to work for this to happen – we have to build trust with humans."

"There are so many who were separated when the human military arrested us," she said, then switched to English. "I am Odila of the Swamad."

"I'm Mahureen, Iksen of the Tgorasad, daughter of Nehreen who served before me; but I swore to protect all Atrians who survive outside the Sector – Tgorasad _and_ Itrejivil," I replied quietly in Sondiv. I sympathized with her and asked her who she'd lost. She told me three names, and I smiled upon recognizing one, Alisa. I told her so, and that the woman was well, married and had a baby boy.

"Alisa is my sister," Odila said with a sad but grateful smile.

"I'll tell her I met you," I promised and turned to get back to work, but a man, Brahe, approached me. He spoke very softly, saying two names I didn't recognize, then complemented the float loudly.

"I will try finding them, but I don't recognize their names," I promised him. "If I'm successful, I will try and get word to you."

Loraine approached. "Follow him and get names," I told her, indicating the man. "Be back in a half hour, no more. Be careful."

"Okay," she said, walking away a ways, but staying in sight of the float.

But after a while I lost sight of her. I tried not to worry. I kept a look out for Loraine, hoping that the people she met would be discreet. This was so risky, but it would spread hope.

We continued to do the finishing touches, making sure the markings and white tusks were significantly covered in glitter, and the masks and Mardi Gras signs were firmly in place. Two people were finishing the purple glitter on the sides.

I suddenly had a bad feeling. Something was off; missing. I looked around. I tried to call Loraine on my cell, but she didn't pick up.

Shaking off my concerns, I surveyed the progress of the float, but there was a nagging feeling in my gut that she, no _he_ was in trouble – or missing. No, not missing; I could still feel him. Drake?

I looked around. Drake. I couldn't explain it, but something was amiss. I tried calling Justin. It went straight to voicemail.

Dunon didn't have a phone, so I couldn't call him… and Justin didn't answer when I called again. I began to panic. Why isn't he answering, I asked myself as I tried Justin again. Voicemail. I hung up.

I tried to call Loraine again.

"What's wrong?" Krista asked.

"I can't get a hold of Justin or Loraine…" I said, trying Justin's phone again. Did his battery die?

"We are nearly done," Amilee stated. "Some of the glitter has to be touched up, and the people working on the Atrian markings and tusks, but they're nearly finished."

"Good," I said as I tried calling Justin again, but it went straight to voicemail. "Damn." My instincts were telling me to send Drake help, screaming at me to find Justin and Dunon and ask them what had happened to Drake. But I had to find Loraine, as well.

I called her again, but it went straight to voicemail again.

I walked to where Travis and Tyson were checking the final touches, hanging handfuls of plastic beads on the hooks on the upright pillars. "Loraine wondered off. I have to go find her," I said, looking back at the place I'd last seen her.

"You can't go wondering off now!" Tyson said as Amilee dropped remnants of the garland in the trash bin. "Try calling her again."

"I did; it goes to straight to voicemail," I said. I was getting worried; she'd been gone a long time, and she didn't know her way around the Sector at all.

"She'll be back, if not, Roman can find her later," Ethan said.

"That's not an option!" I stated.

"You don't know your way around the Sector – you'll get yourself lost and then what?" Travis said.

I knew he was right, but I had a feeling that she'd be at the market; that was the most logical place for her to have gone. "I'll be…" I stopped. I needed to find Loraine and Drake's pod. I was just starting to feel him again, as if the consciousness I had become used to was waking up, but something was definitely off: he was angry – he needed help. I could try and find someone who could help me.

"I have no choice, Drake and Loraine have to be back before the others return," I said to Travis and hurried to the marketplace. That had to be the best place to start looking for her. I'd find Loraine and have someone show me how to get to Drake's pod. Maybe Bekhiie, the woman who made my pin, would be there.

Quinn caught up to me and grabbed my arm. "Where the hell are you going?" he demanded.

"Loraine isn't back yet," I said, moving closer to him and placing my hand over his. "I have to find her."

"You can't just wander off," he said.

"Then come with me," I said and pulled free of his grip. "It's this way." I found the market area easily enough, but no sign of Loraine, and apparently Bekhiie wasn't selling her jewelry today.

"This is crazy," Quinn said. "Let's go back.

I saw a few rough-looking men with gruff expressions look our way. I glanced around. I didn't see anyone I knew, not that I knew that many people in the Sector.

Quinn drew me aside and hissed, "We're taking on the Trags, in the Sector, and you want to sightsee?"

"I'm not," I replied, seeing some Atrians running across the open space, carrying pipes.

"Now, Mahureen," Quinn hissed as the lights in the Sector began to turn on. I looked up realizing that the sun had dipped below the crates.

He was right – this was insane. I felt calmer; that connection I had with Drake, the empathetic sense I seemed to get when around him was stronger than normal, and I, for some reason, knew that he was all right now. There was a sense of urgency – but relieved and ready to fight again. I really had to talk to Meheka about this. Not that I minded feeling what Drake felt, or sensed what he did, but he was with someone else – she was having his baby. I had to stop obsessing over Drake! He was a Vwasak warrior for goodness sake! He could take care of himself.

On the way back to the float I saw Loraine exit the Atrian pub. "Look," I said. We ran up to her. "Why were you gone for so long?" I almost shouted at her. "I was worried."

"I'm fine; it just took longer…" she said. "How are things going? Any word on the delivery?"

"You wonder off without letting anyone know where you are going and…" I hissed at her. "You're the one that chided me on intrigue, remember?"

"I didn't expect there to be that many people who are hoping to reconnect with family," she said softly to me. "Don't be mad, I texted the names to Ihmen."

"You what?" I hissed, coming to a halt.

"There were so many," she said and hurried away from me before I could say anything else.

I ran up and grabbed her arm. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"It was the fastest way and we'll have… Okay, it's a list, but it's not on paper," she said.

My phone rang; it was Justin, "We found Drake. The Suvek has safeguards; the second the Suvek passes out of the Sector it will release an electrical pulse that will kill anyone within 30 feet."

"What?" Fuck. "Are you sure?" I screeched. I needed help, fast. Who? Who…? "What are the other safeguards?"

Drake's voice came on the line. "Who is this?"

"Drake, it's Mahureen," I said softly in Sondiv. "Trust the men with you; they are Atrian, your back up. Now what's this about safeguards killing people?"

"The Suvek security can only be disabled remotely. My mom is taking care of that," Drake said, his voice that of a commander. It was reassuring, and I calmed down immediately.

"When Sophia returned from the SEU, she, Emery and Lukas took a dumpster to Corridor D, three blocks east of the market. They'll exchange it as planned and come back. Jason and Quinn are with them in case they run into a snag," I told him. "The float is nearly done. I'll wrap up things there, and we'll be ready to go soon."

"My mom will send a signal when it safe to move it out of the Sector," Drake said and hung up. Tough guys, no phone etiquette, but they are luscious.

But before I could tell Loraine and Quinn what was said, I got a call from Gareth, "We're coming, be ready." He hung up before I could say anything.

"They are coming," I told Loraine and Quinn, "We have to get back. Now!"

"We shouldn't have left," Quinn snapped at me. We took off running. We arrived as Emery was driving the jeep for the gates, and Roman and Grayson were jumping onto the back of the float.

"Where have you been?" Ethan shouted at me as he and Jason helped me up on the front of the float as Arnund pulled Quinn up and Gareth grabbed Loraine's arm, to pull them both up on the side.

Suddenly Drake dropped down in front of the jeep and shouted at Emery, "We got a problem." Roman ran forward as Justin and Dunon arrived behind Drake. Drake warned us about the safeguard placed on the Suvek.

Emery stood up. "That's not our only problem," she said as Atrian men began to move toward us.

Trags, I thought, ducking under the tusks of the elephant. "Ethan, have Gareth, Mason and Arnund protect the package," I hissed. Justin and Dunon sprang into action as soon as Drake knocked out the first man who attacked him. Quinn and Ethan jumped down on the right side of the float, fighting off the men who came at that side as Roman, Grayson and Jason defended the left.

The guys were winning when an Atrian shouted, "Call off your friends, or I'll put a hole in her head."

A flair shot into the sky and everyone looked, including the guy with the guy. "That's the signal," Drake stated, and Emery pulled out mace and sprayed into the Atrian's eyes.

"Emery, go," was repeated from Drake, Roman and Grayson as she put the jeep in gear. I reached out to help Ethan jump onto the float as Quinn jumped into the back of the jeep. I turned, and saw that Roman, Dunon and Drake were onboard, helping Grayson and Justin up. Suddenly, the music for the float started playing and the remaining Trags, for that is who they had to be, scampered away as we rode the float to the Sector gates. Sophia and Lukas joined us as we passed through the gates, the media news reporters filming our passage.

"So this is what you do when you're not in school?" Ethan asked me.

"It's not always this exciting, sometimes we just go for hamburgers," I told him, and he gave me a one arm hug.

Outside the gates, Drake jumped down and then helped Sophia down; together, they walked off with Lukas for his car. The thirteen members of my 'family' jumped down before Grayson drove away, and we headed for our cars. "Should we stay with Grayson?" Justin asked.

"He's going straight to the school," Roman replied. "Gloria will be there to meet him."

"We'll follow just in case," Quinn offered, and he Justin and Ethan walked to their SUV.

I pulled out my phone and called Ian to update him, even though I knew that Dunon, Gareth, Mason and Arnund would head back to the houses and give him a full report.

"Do you want to go to The Bug?" Krista asked me. "I hear everyone I going, and I'm dying to see the place.

"Yeah sure," I replied, then walked away to talk to Ian in relative privacy.

~~~~~o~~~~~

We arrived at The Bug and looked for a large booth for all nine of us, (well once Justin and Quinn arrived we'd have nine) but we had to settle for a booth and a table. Krista and Amilee were fascinated by The Bug, gaping about like a pair of tourists. Loraine looked tired as she leaned against the booth and sent a texted message to Ihmen. Jason, Travis and Tyson went to get food, as Ethan slid into the booth next to Amilee and pulled me in next to him. "You are going to have to learn to delegate," he said.

"I delegate," I stated. "But so few of us can be out here among the humans," I paused as I read a message from Ian, chiding me for taking such foolish risks as Krista sat on the other side of the joined tables.

"Mahureen, Earth to Mahureen," Krista said and I looked up. "I asked you if you think Justin and Quinn will be here soon."

"It's from Ian," I said putting my phone away. "If there's trouble, they will call."

I saw Taylor enter, scan the room and head immediately down the stairs.

Jason and Tyson arrived, bearing trays loaded with food, with Travis carrying four pitchers of two each of Orange Crush and lemonade as Taylor descended on Emery and Grayson. Jason and Tyson slid into the booth next to Krista, and Travis sat at the table. Everyone dug in and started to eat hungrily. "At this rate there will be nothing for Justin," Kristin said, slapping Jason's hand as he reached for the last burger.

"They can buy more," Ethan said, finishing his chicken strip. He spread his arms across the back of the booth, giving my shoulders a squeeze. Amilee leaned into him, and I turned in my seat and snapped their picture for her. I checked the image. She had a cute smile, really happy and he of course looked great, but then Ethan never took a bad pic.

As I showed it to Amilee as I caught a glimpse of Drake standing at the top of the stairs watching us. Our eyes met, and I almost aimed my phone to snap his pic but he turned his head. I sighed; oh well, I had my chance with him a blew it. I watched him as he looked about, searching the room. The he smiled, sort of in my direction again as he jumped down the steps, but then he walked straight to Taylor. She turned, and he gently touched her arm whispering something in her ear.

I turned away, and grabbed my glass of Orange Crush.

"You okay? Why do you look like someone dumped on your parade," Ethan asked me.

"Her Vwasak warrior is here," Jason stated, pointing to Drake and Taylor.

I was still watching Drake as he clapped his hands as he faced her, telling her something. He looked totally adorable. Happy. Time to move on.

I turned away. "So that's who he dumped you for?" Ethan said and gave me a hug. "No account for taste."

"She's pretty and popular," I said.

"You're just as pretty and popular and soon to be the leader of a planet," he said, grabbing a chicken strip. I watched as Drake left to go get food, and was surprised at the amount he carried to Taylor's table. We all joined in with the regaling of our little adventure, laughing at the more silly moments. "Until you walked off," Ethan whispered in my ear.

"I had too, Loraine—"

"Could have asked for one of the Itrejivil to walk her back to the float," he said, and wiped a bit of ketchup off my lip. "I'd have waited for her if she'd missed our grand exit."

"Well, it all worked out," I said as he leaned back with his arms on the back of the booth behind Amilee and me. I saw Drake leave Taylor, only to return with more food as the busboy left another pitcher of water on the table for her. Atrian pregnancies: the moms to be were constantly hungry, drinking gallons of water every day to keep hydrated and needing loads of emotional support to keep from crying. Yet I really envied Taylor; Drake was one of those supportive types.

It was becoming obvious that she was going to keep the baby. I'd have to talk to Roman about that, see what he and Drake would do.

I turned, it's not my problem. It's theirs.

My phone beeped and I read the message from Ian. Saroya, the co-pilot of the ARDhet, was at Jessy's Tours boathouse! She'd escaped the Sector! "I have to go. Let me out," I said urgently, pushing my way out of the booth.

"Is everything okay?" Ethan and Loraine asked.

"I have to go get someone," I said, getting to my feet. I tried not to stare at Drake and Taylor, sitting at a small table loaded with food and water as I walked hurriedly for the exit. I was going to meet Sayora, _the_ Sayora!

Drake stood as I approached their table, looking at me oddly, and Taylor rose up slowly from her chair with a worried expression forming on her face as she listened to someone on her own phone.


	14. Chapter 14

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 13 ("Passion Lends Them Power")

As I was leaving The Bug to go meet Sayora, _the _Sayora – the co-pilot of the ARDhet, Drake jumped the stairs to get by me, a odd, concerned look on his face, and headed over to the table where Sophia, Lukas, Julia and Erik sat, painting masks for the Mardi Gras parade. I turned, seeing Taylor pacing by her table, speaking to whoever called her, getting agitated.

Yep, Atrian pregnancies; emotions can flip as if by a switch. Not my problem.

I saw Drake whisper in Sophia's ear when I waved at my friends, but Sophia glanced up at Taylor. No one at the table looked at me, though; they were all focused on Drake. Whatever it was bothering Taylor, I knew that Sophia and Drake would sort it out; I needed to go rescue a woman I really admired.

I left, kinda glad that I didn't have to watch anymore of the Drake, Taylor and baby saga.

I got into my car and drove to Ebbingson Road, parking next to the old wood sign. I followed the path that only our people could see to what some called the dream gate. I hated this path, alligators lurked here, and I loathe alligators. The path stopped at an old boathouse and tackle shop called Jessy's Tours, but only the letters, J E S Y' T U R were lit, and the apostrophe, too, spelling out Jesy'tur, the name of the boatman and gatekeeper of Eljida and Negea. I don't know if it had been called Jessy's Tours before we arrived or if my people had built this place, since no road or real trail led to it, but I knew that no humans ever came close to the gate.

I saw a one of my Zæsak warriors, but only because he allowed me to see him. He was probably the one who had called Ian about Sayora being here. I knew that there were other Zæsak warriors near, watching me, and I made the formal salute in respect. The warrior returned the salute and withdrew into the shadows of the foliage, although I could still make out his silhouette. The warriors all knew me by sight, my name and even details of my life, but I only knew a few of them. Mostly, I knew their primary leaders and commanders, but I respected all of them.

As I approached the boathouse, a blonde woman in a black hooded coat stood facing me with her knife in her hand and the hood obscuring her face. "Escape is possible; to seek Eljida, journey by way of the ebbing sun…" I said in way of greeting in Sondiv.

"If you are Atrian you'll see the way," she replied in Sondiv, lowering her guard minutely. "You're the boatman?"

"No, I'm not. I mean you no harm, but come as a friend, if you'll allow me," I said in formal Sondiv.

She lowered her arm. "Where is Jesytur?"

I smiled. "He is not coming. May I?" I asked, coming closer.

She nodded, making her hood slip back a little.

"I'm Mahureen, Iksen of the Tgorasad, daughter of Nehreen who served before me," I said formally. "I swore to protect all Atrians – the Tgorasad _and_ Itrejivil – who survive outside the Sector. I extend to you my protection."

"Why can't I go to Eljida?" she asked.

I leaned against the handrail with my hands clasped in front of me so I'd seem informal, nonthreatening. The old boathouse might look dilapidated, but that was a façade; the dock area, deck and bench were really quite sturdy and well built. "I would suggest another placement for you, if you'll agree to it," I said in English.

She tilted her head as if skeptical, then answered back, "No, I wish to go to Eljida – to be among the others – to be free…"

Her voice trailed off as I looked at her, slowly shaking my head. "Eljida is not what you've been led to believe," I said, speaking again in Sondiv. She shook her head, about to argue with me, so I held up my hand. "I will not lie to you. Eljida was not built as a free city; it was built as a hiding place for those who managed to avoid the hunts after we crashed here, a refuge. We needed homes, places to live. Eljida is one of three places built out of the drop ships and what we could salvage from the remains of the life pods, plus a few trailers and drainage pipes… it's all deep into the ground, under the water. It was created to house about 350 – 400 people, but it is an internment, much like the Sector is, although, the people are there by choice, not by force. But those who enter are not free to come and go since Atrians are not welcome by the indigenous people of this planet. When you enter Eljida, you chose to remain until either humans accepts us and grant us freedom or we, Atrians, gather to leave the planet."

"No, that can't be right," she said, looking off into the bayou.

She lowered her hood, and for a moment I was taken aback; Saroya was the woman from Dinaskyu – the one Gloria brought to Drake's pod – Drake's mom! She immediately backed up, her defenses heightened because of my reaction. I raised my hand in supplication. "No, Saroya, please," I dropped my hand. "I… I remember you from Dinaskyu," I said, trying to regain my composure. This woman was a hero to me, and I was blowing this – but she was Drake's mother.

"You know me?" she asked, but her expression was guarded.

"I know who you are," I added, however my reply didn't reassure her. "Wait, I was told you'd been arrested because Castor didn't want anyone to know what had happened on the ARDhet – but I know. I know what really happened. So do my Iksen and the elders of my people. You are not without friends, people who know we owe our lives to you."

"You're crazy," she said, but she put her knife in its sheath. "I crashed the ship."

"But you saved our lives! The ARDhet takes a team of two to safely navigate in and out of a planetary atmosphere – I know this. However, you managed to keep the craft in one piece and relatively balanced enough to allow the life pods and drop ships to disengage, all while under threat to your life, and landed the ship with minimal damage all on your own. I have seen your mirszan, the co-pilot's recorder, all ten hours forty-eight minutes of it."

"You've seen…?"

"I've seen it, lived it through you," I said. "I can't fathom how you..." I regained my composure. Regardless of how awestruck I was of this woman, I was here on official business. "Please come with me to the houses. It's a community built by us for our needs. Everything will be explained to you, I promise."

She looked away, through the trees of the bayou, so I waited. Finally she nodded. I turned and made the formal salute to the warriors, then led Sayora to my car. I took out my phone and called Ian, putting the phone on speaker. "I have her, she's agreed to come," I said in Sondiv.

"The elders are eager to greet the co-pilot of the ARDhet," Ian answered back in Sondiv, then told me in English, "We'll see you when you get here."

I hung up. Beside me, Sayora was quiet, much like she was the night of Dinaskyu in her pod. "Do you know the human language English?"

Saroya shook her head. "Some; I'm not," she paused a second, then added, "fluent," in Sondiv.

I smiled reassuringly. "Then we will speak in Sondiv," I reassured her in our language.

To break the silence as I drove her to the houses, I told her what I knew about the hunts and the way we've lived to survive. "I know that there are people who think that Eljida is a safe haven; it is safe, and so well hidden in the bayou even the military satellites can't see it, but it is not a haven. Plus it's at maximum capacity. We've started building Negea, but it's harder to get supplies in, especially the huge drainage pipes. Building the houses was easier."

"Why?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I was young when Eljida and Ukænos were built; I was present at the meetings, but much of the discussion were… boring. Well, to be honest, I wanted to play with my friends."

"You were a child," she said, and I nodded.

"I have been groomed to be Iksen since I was eight, but didn't take it all that seriously until I was about eleven. I began to lead our Hwatab at fourteen and took the wysedia at fifteen. I've been the Iksen of the people, for all of us hiding out here, ever since. My Hwatab consists of my Tgorasad Iksen and their Seconds as well as appointed representatives of the Itrejivil who live outside the Sector."

I turned onto Oak Knoll and into the garage of Meheka's house. "We're here," I said, turning off the car. "You will be welcomed here."

She didn't look convinced, but when we entered the house, I think she was thrown for a loop; the house was full and many of them were smiling at her. Every elder and all the Iksens and their Seconds were waiting to meet and greet her. I introduced her to many of them until Meheka spoke up and offered to help her settle in.

I watched as Sayora was led away by Meheka and Ian, smiling at the amazing woman I very much respected. She'd be happier here, I hoped.

~~~~~o~~~~~

My phone rang at dawn.

"Castor was found dead last night; he was killed with a poisonous kos," Ryuta said, and I immediately became more alert. "No one has seen or heard from Roman and he's not in his pod."

"Roman, he wouldn't do this," I said confused.

"Roman opposed Castor, he didn't trust him, and Castor has been maligning Roman for a while now. Roman was seen falling off a crate and running away from the scene, but one eyewitness said Roman was bleeding – he may have been stabbed as well." He paused and I could hear indistinct vices in the background. "They're gone. It could be they had a knife fight, they happen here."

"Tell me again, but tell me everything," I urged him.

"There isn't much to tell," Ryuta said. "As far as the record shows, Roman did not leave with the float from the Sector. He was seen in various sections within the Sector, all public venues. He even met with the Iwabas Iksen. The last time anyone saw him he had fallen from the crates in section II, quadrant II, corridor E. He was running for the back of the corridor, not the Sector market or main corridors – away from his pod."

There was a shout in the background, and he paused.

"His mother said that he didn't come back before she turned in last night. But Maia said she was up reading until midnight, that's way after curfew. However, Sophia is contradicting herself: one minute Sophia says he was home, sleeping – but she didn't see him in the pod that night, and doesn't recall what time he came home, only that it must have been late. Then she said she thinks he had risen early to leave the Sector."

Okay odd.

"We've been ordered to do a perimeter check just in case he found another way out," Ryuta said. "One more thing, Teri left the Sector late last night and returned two minutes after curfew. I let it slide, it was her first time. But a kid said she saw Emery and Teri together last night sometime after eight o'clock, and they apparently left together. Teri left again first thing this morning at change of shift. Drake and Sophia, they clocked out twenty minutes later."

"So Drake and Sophia are outside somewhere?" I wished the seven were allowed cell phones.

"And Teri – all three, well four if you count Roman," he said, then added, "I have to go, they're calling me," and hung up.

I tried calling Emery and got no answer. I tried to call Julia.

"Where are you?"

"Home," I replied, surprised by the anxious tone in her voice. "Why…?"

"The Suvek was stolen last night," she stated.

"What?" I gasped.

"Grayson was highjacked and the Trags have the Suvek," Julia said.

"Where are you?" I asked, wondering what if anything Roman and Drake were doing.

"I'm on my way to the warehouse to meet up with everyone," Julia said.

"Okay. I'll see you there as soon as I can," I replied and hung up.

I called Justin and Jason's apartment, getting Justin. "I need your help."

"When haven't you lately," he said sarcastically and then asked, "Why, what's up?" So I told him what happened. "Shit. Okay, I'll be there in a minute," he said and hung up.

Shoot. I wanted him to bring his roommates just in case. I tried calling back, but it went to voice mail after five rings.

I tried calling Gareth, Mason, Arnund and Dunon's apartment, hoping to have them help me again, and Dunon answered on the fourth ring. "They're not here. Ian pulled Gareth, Mason and Arnund in around o-four hundred," he said.

"Why?" I asked and then shook the question off. "Are they coming back soon, I need their help."

"I don't know," he said. "Why? What happened?"

There was a pounding on my door as I told him what happened. I opened my door to let whoever in, finding Tyson, Justin and Jason there, Jason still pulling on his shirt.

"All right, I'll be right there," Dunon stated and hung up as the three at my door entered the apartment.

"Aren't you ready yet?" Justin asked as I turned to get my purse.

I grabbed my large Nine West bag, checking that I had my herb kit, and opened my door, finding Dunon with his fist raised to knock. "Let's go," I said as the other three exited into the hall.

"I'll drive," Dunon said.

Who was I to argue.

When the five of us arrived, the 'float crew' were already at the warehouse, well everyone but Roman and Emery, and the float was there, seemingly intact, just as it was supposed to be. Grayson was trying to give a report to the three cops, but for some reason the cops walked away and wouldn't help because of who Grayson was, or more specifically, who his parents were.

Dunon turned his head as they walked by us, and swiped at his close cropped hair as if to avoid eye contact with the police.

Odd.

"Are you serious, they're not even going to help us?" Julia asked everyone as Dunon leaned in and whispered to me, "I recognize two of them."

"Just because of the Red Hawks? There is a bomb at Mardi Gras," Erick grumbled as I turned to Dunon and asked, "How?"

"I've seen one of them with Rayne…" he said softly. "He's a Trag – I don't know about his partner."

"That Trag who float-jacked you last night must have driven it here and taken the Suvek," Drake said, drawing my attention from Dunon's announcement. "They couldn't have gone far."

"Unless they used a truck," I pointed out, still wondering if the other two cops could be Trag, too.

"Or my jeep," Grayson said angrily. Behind him, Tyson was watching Lukas as he did some kind of scan with his phone. "They'd want to set it off in a crowded place, and with the whole town here for Mardi Gras…"

"But how are we supposed to find it? They could've taken it anywhere," Sophia said.

"It could be somewhere in town, possibly along the parade route," Erik stated.

"If the security safeguards were set to kill anyone within 30 feet, I think it would be safe to assume that would be the same radius," I said.

Drake looked at me, and I could tell he didn't think so. "Main street is at least a mile, right? That's 5,280 _feet_ or 1,760 yards," he said.

"But it would make sense, wouldn't it? Somewhere in the middle of the parade route – maximum casualties," Julia said.

"Guys, I downloaded the Geiger counter app," Lukas said, joining the group as Tyson clicked away on his iPhone. "I'm picking up trace amounts of radiation from the float. It's probably left over from the Suvek."

"So we search the area and try to pick up the signal," Julia said.

"And if you measure anything over 500 cpm, then you're definitely close to it," Lukas said.

"So we should all add the app?" I asked.

"If you have the same phone, but you'll need a few other apps that support its function," Lukas said.

Julia pulled out her phone as did I. "No," Justin said, pushing my arm down. "I'll do it."

"I should too, just in case," I insisted, and Tyson took my phone to download them for me, getting a reprimanding look from Justin.

Tyson and Lukas helped Justin, Grayson, Dunon and Julia download the apps and then showed us how to us it.

"Let's split up," Grayson said. Drake paired up with me, Sophia with Grayson, Erick and Julia together, and Tyson went with Lukas.

Dunon said he wanted to check out the cop. "If he's at the parade, then I'll know."

"All the cops in town might be at the parade," I pointed out. Justin said he was going with Dunon and they left.

"What's up with him?" Drake asked.

"Recognized the cop. Could he be a Trag?" I asked Drake.

He shrugged. "Anything's possible."

We searched the street, moving through the crowd before the parade, hoping to get lucky, but so far, I wasn't getting anything. I stopped and turned off the app. "What are you doing?" Drake asked as I opened my contact list. "We are supposed to be using that to find the Suvek."

"Calling Ian, my Zæsak Iksen, for back up," I said and put the phone to my ear as we continued to walk through the crowd. He picked up immediately. "Ian, no luck on finding this so far. I need the scouts to help us find it."

"We've another situation," he said.

"What?" I said slowly. Now what?

"Two more humans have been admitted to Endendale Hospital with what looks like black ciper burning," he told me.

"Are you sure?" I gasped, stopping.

"I'm sure. I have everyone I can spare on high alert and searching for the plant. Our best cultivators are on standby."

"Drake, someone with what looks like black ciper burning is being treated at the hospital."

"What?" Drake asked, but I'd turned my attention to Ian.

"When? Were they both exposed in the same place? Could it be from the same source?"

"Not sure," Ian said. "One victim is a patrol officer – we heard the report on the police scanners. He spotted someone on the ground clutching their throat, so he stopped to help. According to what he told the dispatcher, the man indicated that there was another victim, so went to investigate. He reported that there was nothing at the site, but apparently started to have respiratory issues and collapsed. However, he did manage to call for paramedical help."

"Where?" Drake asked.

"I dunno yet," I told him, then asked Ian, "How long ago were their exposure and where was he when he collapsed?"

"We know that he was admitted sometime last night," Ian stated. "He was somewhere outside town — we're guessing northeast of town, the closest point to Baton Rouge. I've all my scouts looking for the site, but unless we hack into the police computers, I can't get a definite on where the policeman was; Elias doesn't respond when I call and no one has seen him since he notified me."

"Elias?" I vaguely remembered him; he had recently been promoted to warrior and opted to have his markings bleached. "Missing?" I asked and Ian confirmed it. I hoped he was all right and would turn up this afternoon. "What are we going to do about the humans? We can't purge them until the respiratory burns are cured by black ciper," I said.

"We have to find the plant first," Ian said. "The primary doctor considers it another outbreak of a highly contagious, rare and dangerous unknown pathogen, so Nerund, one of our Dævas Toxicologists, has obtained consulting privileges on the victim's case, but the CDC from Atlanta, Georgia has been alerted, and they are sending a representative to investigate."

"Shit! The last thing we need is for the CDC to find the black ciper spores in the victims' blood. If they run tests and find the similarities to red ciper, there will be a human panic. We'll – the Itrejivil in the Sector will be locked down and the interrogations will resume."

"I'm aware of that," Ian said. "I'll have the humans relocated within the hour, even if I have to steal them."

"Ian, no—"

"It has to be done, or we risk exposure of black ciper," he said. "Remember, Eva Benton works at the Daigle Biomed-tech Pharmaceutical Research Institute, and she has ties with David Boehringer at the CDC."

"Right, keep me posted," I said and hung up. "My scouts are on it," I told Drake.

"Then let's keep moving," he said.

As the parade moved slowly down the street, and the sidewalks became even more crowded, I spotted Lukas and Sophia getting off our float.

Drake took off running toward them, shouting, "Hey," and I followed on his heels. "You guys find anything?"

"I'm getting elevated radiation readings on this block," Lukas said. "The Suvek must be nearby. I'll tell the others to meet us here."

"Where is Grayson?" I asked them.

"He thought he saw something and ran off," Lukas told me.

"Is that Taylor?" Sophia asked.

Drake sighed heavily and walked over to her as Lukas started to alert everyone to where we were.

Taylor was all smiles as he approached, but I could tell he was really annoyed at her, it radiated off him. She held up her hands, one clutching a Coach clutch, the other a cup of water.

Drake pursed his lips as Taylor, obviously clueless, was smiling up at him, then turned as Zoeda joined them and removed her mask, holding up her hands as if to say 'surprise'. Zoeda put her arm around Taylor as Taylor kept talking. Drake was watching Zoeda as if he wanted to strangle her. Zoeda had an expression that was as cocky and smug.

"I'm going to go across the street and see if the reading is stronger over there," Lukas said.

"Okay," I said as I watched Zoeda point to a beignets stand. Not surprising, Taylor looked at the stand as if ravenous, and she walked away to go eat. Blissfully unaware and completely naïve. How in the world…? Didn't Drake warn her about Zoeda?

Drake grabbed Zoeda's shoulder and turned her, his expression warning.

"Maureenn, Earth to Maureen," Lukas said.

"Oh yeah, I'll scan the area here," I said, still watching Drake.

"Whatever; Sophia, stay with her," Lukas said.

Zoeda was unfazed, and Drake turned to look where Taylor was standing eating fresh beignets. I turned too, seeing four men in black wearing the same type of black leather masks – masks that look altogether too familiar. Atrian, but I couldn't place them.

"It's across the street, somewhere," Lukas said as he joined Sophia and me. Drake turned to face Zoeda again, and she looked smug.

"Can you pin it down?" I asked him.

"Of course I can; I'll try there first," he said as he pointed to where the nail salon, the three story brick building that had been Delanne's _furniture store_ at one point, and the pharmacy all stood.

Drake looked pissed as she walked away from him and joined Taylor at the beignets truck as Taylor bought another tray of the fatty treat.

"I'll call Tyson, he's really tech savvy, and go get Drake and try to find Roman," I said. "They are the best shot we have at stopping this thing. And find the others," I said as I took a few steps in Drake's direction. I dunno, maybe I'd call Daniel at his shop. Daniel was Me-ma's husband, like a father to me and a Sævad mechanical engineer, who was really good with vehicles. He and Baxton, another Sævad mechanical engineer, had submitted the patents for Atrian parts that improved electric cars, like improved batteries, starters, converters and such, and they had an automotive shop on 5th street.

Drake was still watching Zoeda and Taylor and the four men in masks who'd obviously taken four point positions around Taylor and Zoeda.

No one answered at the shop. Damn. I tried Daniel's cell, getting voicemail, so I tried calling Baxton.

He picked up after the fourth ring. "Hello."

"Baxton, where are you?" I asked, a finger in my other ear so I could hear him better, and Drake looked at me sharply.

"Baton Rouge," he said.

"Oh," I said, having a hard time hearing him. "Where's Daniel? I tried to call him but he didn't pick up."

"We've that meeting with General Motors today," he said.

Shit, I forgot. "Right, okay," I said as I looked around, and I realized that I couldn't see Drake. Or Taylor. Where did they go?

"Should I have him call you?" Baxton asked me.

"No, I'm fine," I said looking around for Drake. I saw him standing a few feet away, staring intently though the crowd.

"You don't sound fine," Baxton said as I started walking in Drake's direction.

"It can wait till he gets back," I lied. "What happened?" I asked Drake as soon as I approached him.

"Zoe is alive," Drake said.

"I know that – I saw her," I said as he stormed away from me. I hurried after him. "Drake, wait…"

"Zoe is the one who float-jacked Grayson – she has the Suvek," he snarled, coming to a halt. "And now she's got Taylor."

"You mean those four men I saw in the leather masks? They're Trag – they have Taylor? Why…?" But I probably could have guessed, although I doubted it had anything to do with the Suvek. "Those masks, are they Atrian?" I asked as he started walking again.

"They are Iwabas masks from Swien Zmarzyje," he said, moving through the crowd, intently watching something ahead that I couldn't see. But then he was taller than me.

"The Day of the Dead celebration? How apropos," I said, hurrying to keep up with him. But try as I might, I was having a harder time navigating the crowd than he was. "Drake, wait! We shouldn't spit up," I yelled after him.

Suddenly a large Atrian man in a grey cowl-necked pullover grabbed my arm and pulled me aside. "Are you the one who seduced our Trag brother, Drake?"

"Let go of me," I insisted, but even though I tried to yank my arm free, this man was much stronger than I was.

"Answer me. Are you're the bitch who turned Drake from his brothers and defiled our Atrian purity with your salaciousness?" he snarled.

"No, I didn't," I said, frightened. He was holding me so tight it hurt. I could still see Drake, but there were so many people. "We're friends, but I didn't…"

"Friends? Is that what you call it, lusting after our men?" he sneered as he pulled me into alley space where the trash bins for the shops stood.

"Drake and I – we're not – not anymore! We-we're only friends," I stammered, looking for anyone to help me.

"Aren't you the blond he impregnated?" he demanded to know.

"What? I – no! I'm—" I couldn't tell this guy who I was – he was Trag. "We're friends, from school, and—"

He shoved me against the wall next to the dumpster so hard I thought my head would crack on the stucco. "You should have left well enough alone," he warned me, his arm now pressed on my chest. "You humans should stay with your own kind."

I saw Drake looking around, but there were so many people I knew he couldn't see me. "Drake!" I screamed out, and the Atrian pulled out a knife.

"You liar – you _are_ his human sunka," the Trag snarled, calling me Drake's bitch, pushing his weight on his arm and making it hard to breathe. "You and your baby are an abomination and that thing in you has to die."

I started to panic, pushing against him, but his body was like solid muscle and my struggling didn't even budge him. "I'm not—" I started to say as I felt the knife press on my abdomen. I grabbed the man's wrist, hoping to stop him from killing me, but he just laughed at me. His wrist under my fingers felt like solid steel.

"You are a little pyekota, aren't you?" he sneered amusedly, calling me a hellcat, and for a moment I froze, my passiveness giving my attacker a false sense of domination.

But for a moment, just over the man's shoulder, I could see Drake's head, but he wasn't looking in my direction. "DRAKE!" I screamed, and I felt a prick from his knife.

"Shut up!" he snarled as I shouted, "DRAKE!" again, praying he'd hear me. The Trag's arm pressed firmly, pinning me in place.

"Shut up, slut, or I'll slice you open right here," he said as his arm slid up to my neck, cutting off my wind pipe. I started to hit at him, pushing at him with all my might again, but he outweighed me by a good hundred pounds or more of solid muscle. He merely laughed at me. "You're making this fun—"

Suddenly the pressure on my throat eased and the blade slid on my skin as he was pulled backward. The Trag turned, knife in hand as Drake threw a right hook into the man's face. The Trag lost his balance for a second, but long enough for Drake to belt him with another solid punch. The Atrian swung with the knife, but Drake anticipated the blow and jumped back, then quickly moved forward, turning his torso as he landed a punch to the man's gut. I moved forward, and drew my leg back as the Atrian managed to hit Drake once, then again, and I slammed my foot into the man's knee with all my strength, making it buckle. Drake hit him again, and the knife clattered to the ground. The Atrian swung again, favoring his leg, and Drake slammed him with an uppercut to the jaw. The Trag stumbled backward, his head jerked back as I scrambled from the wall and out onto the pavement.

I turned as Drake hit him again, making the man stumble into the dumpster. Drake turned toward me quickly. "Go," he shouted as he grabbed my arm and dragging me away at a run. I stumbled, and he hauled me up, pulling me along with him. "Across the street," he shouted, shoving me forward.

I ran, not looking back, as I hurried through the people tossing beads alongside a float. I shoved a man out of my way as I ducked and dodged my way to the buildings, passing the Antique Shoppe and stopping between Brighton's and PinkN'Berry's, breathing hard. I bent forward slightly, grasping my middle, to catch my breath.

Drake came up to my side and clasped my shoulder. "Keep going," he said sharply, but his expression changed as he grabbed my hand when I stood up. "You're bleeding," he said, and I looked at my hand.

I stared at the blood on my hand – my blood.

"How bad is it?" he asked, pulling my navy top up to look.

I looked up at him, but saw my attacker coming with another man in a Swien Zmarzyje mask.

"It doesn't look deep – just a bad scratch," Drake said as I pointed at the two men crossing the street.

"He's coming, two of them," I stammered.

Drake took my hand, leading me down the sidewalk through the crowd. We ducked into a recessed doorway. "Did we lose them?" I asked as Drake examined my cut.

"I don't know," he said. "Not for long."

I pulled out my herb kit from my shoulder bag and handed him cleolat, an astringent antihemorrhagic herb. He rolled it in his fingers and pressed it on my cut, and I tried not to hiss from the sting like a sissy. "He thought I was Taylor," I told him.

He gave me a quizzical look.

"He thought you and I – he accused me of defiling you and making you turn from the Trags," I explained. "If he was looking for Taylor… What happened to her? Last I saw her was before he…"

"I don't know," he said as he stood up. "Bleeding has slowed down, I think you'll be all right." He looked around. "I lost track of her and Zoe when I saw the guy in the Swien Zmarzyje mask pinning you to the wall." He looked at me. "You okay?"

"I am now," I replied.

"Where is everyone?" he asked, looking around.

"Lukas said that the signal was strongest over there," I said, pointing across the street. "We were over here and he was pointing to somewhere by the nail salon, Delanne's old _furniture store_, or the pharmacy. I don't know which." I paused. "What did Zoeda tell you?"

"If we don't stop, she'll kill Taylor," he said, moving to cross the street.

"Drake, Wait…!" I shouted after him, dodging floats and a people in costumes. If what I knew about Zoeda was right, she'd kill Taylor anyway simply for carrying a half-Atrian baby.

"I see Roman and Erik," he shouted, but I was searching for the man who had attacked me. Erika and Roman entered Delanne's _furniture store._

Drake and I ran to the brick building. "Wait," Drake shouted as he entered before me. "We have to pull out now." Roman stopped the elevator door from closing.

"What's wrong?" Sophia asked.

"Zoe's alive, and she has Taylor," Drake said. "If we go after the Suvek, she'll kill her."

Roman stepped out of the elevator as Emery asked, "Where's Taylor now?"

The elevator hummed, obviously going up to the roof, if that was the floor Roman had pushed.

"If Zoe is a hidden Trag, and she has the Suvek, then we should be up there trying to stop her," Grayson said as I called for Justin for backup.

"If Zoe sees us, she will kill Taylor," Drake said as he flicked his hand on Graayson's chest.

"Look if we don't do anything, we'll all end up dead," Lukas said, coming between them.

Justin didn't answer. I tried calling Tyson.

"Drake, they're right," Roman said, sounding like the Iksen I knew he could be.

Drake rubbed his chin as he paced, then he pointed at Emery. "You and Emery said that the Trags are setting the Suvek off at sunset. We have more time."

I shook my head as Erik said, "Sunset's in ten minutes."

Just then the elevator opened and Taylor rushed into Drake's arms. "You okay?" he asked.

"Zoe – she's on the roof, and she's actually an Atrian, and she has four other fake human Atrians with her," Taylor rambled off quickly and turned to face us, "and this machine that looks like a vacuum cleaner-espresso maker but could bring an end to humanity or-or something."

"Sophia and Lukas, get people away from the building," Roman said, taking charge of the situation. "Julia and Erik, find whatever you can to barricade the door, there might be hidden Trags outside. Drake, Grayson and I are going to the roof."

"Roman," I said, getting his attention. "Tyson, Justin, Jason and Dunon are here somewhere," I turned to Lukas. "Remember – from the Sector? If you see them, tell them I said to help you. Tell them their Iksen said to."

Lukas nodded but Grayson shot me a sharp look and Erik looked at me as if confused.

"Taylor, you need to get in your car and get as far away from here as you can," Drake warned her sternly. "Take Maureen with you."

I backed up, away from Taylor as Emery stepped up to my side. "I'm going with you and Grayson to the roof, but we need a plan, Zoe's not going to just hand over the Suvek."

Taylor ran off as we waited for Roman to devise a plan; he was leading this after all.

Suddenly the elevator bell dinged and the door opened, making Drake immediately jump into fight mode. Two Trags in Swien Zmarzyje – Day of the Dead masks looked up in surprise. Drake hauled off and punched one hard in the nose before the man could react, knocking him out, then he hit the other Trag just as hard as the Trag began to react, then Drake smashed the stunned man into the wall. The Trag fell unconscious at Drake's feet. That man was so incredible, he hadn't even hesitated. A true warrior.

"I think I have a plan," Roman said.

"The other Trag thought I was Drake's sunka, the one he got pregnant, you could use that, and maybe…" I pulled out my Iksen's key, "I can help disarm the Suvek."

"No, we have to get the Iksen's key_ out_ of the Suvek," Roman said, and I looked at him in confusion.

"Out of the Suvek?" I parroted in disbelief.

"My uncle's key," Roman said. "Zoe has it."

"You're uncle's – you mean_ your_ key?" I asked him, shaking my head.

"Guys, we've got to go now," Grayson said, and Roman nodded.

He told me what Jesytur told him about the device. "Sayora? When did she talk to him?" I was shocked that Sayora knew about the Suvek _and_ that she'd spoken to Jesytur, considering he hadn't come to get her.

"Not to her; a Vwasak warrior named Elias had spoken to her – he passed on what she'd said," Roman explained.

"Elias?" I gasped, covering my mouth. "He's…" He went missing last night… "From Eljida – he's one of Ian's newest… guards-dians."

Drake smirked at my not to subtle innuendo as Roman nodded, understanding.

"Right, now listen." Roman outlined his plan as he picked up a mask, handing the other to Drake. Emery and I were to be 'hostages.'

"No," Drake said, looking at me as I nodded, saying, "All right."

"No," Drake repeated, sweeping his hand.

I picked up the Trag's gun. "I can fire this," I said, but Drake took it from me. "We don't have time for this, Draek. You subdue the Trags like Roman said, and I'll disarm the Suvek," then added, "somehow," under my breath. I wish Tyson was here, he'd know how to, maybe.

"Drake, now," Roman said with calm authority.

Emery and I helped them put on the men's shirts, since the Trags were both all in black and Roman had on a white T-shirt and Drake a light grey one.

The five of us got into the elevator, Grayson put on the mask, then grabbed me, and Drake gave him an odd-scowling look. Roman held Emery, and Drake pulled himself to the top of the elevator, his eyes on Grayson and me.

When the elevator opened, Emery and I started to 'struggle', Roman holding a gun to Emery's head and Grayson to mine.

"I sent you to get Taylor," Zoeda said angrily. "I don't have any use for them. Get rid of them."

Emery elbowed Roman and ran, and he ran after her, catching her as Zoeda followed them, saying, "Shoot her. Shoot her," as Drake dropped down and Grayson and I moved forward and closer to the Suvek.

"Are you sure you can disarm that thing?" Grayson said softly in my ear as Drake smashed a Trag's knee and moved forward quickly clocking another.

I nodded, hoping I could. Grayson edged me closer as I pretended to struggle. I could see the key, and the key pad…

Suddenly Zoeda fired a gun at Roman and Emery and they took cover.

"Mahureen, get the Iksen's key," Roman shouted.

"I'll keep her guys busy," Drake shouted. "Cover me," he told Grayson as I ducked and made a run for the Suvek.

Gunfire went off as I tried to get to the Suvek, and I had to squat down behind it as bullets ricocheted off the huge metal vents. But I was on the wrong side, all I could see were canisters with wires coming out of them.

I looked at the wiring, ducking again as a bullet seemed to hit near me.

"We don't have much time," Roman shouted, as Drake and Grayson fired at Zoeda.

Drake rushed forward and slugged a Trag, and blood squirted from the Trag's mouth as Drake dove for cover from the other Trag's gunfire.

I moved around the Suvek, pulling on wires, trying to undo anything I could, but it was very well constructed. Roman rushed up to me as I managed to disengage two wires from a canister. He grabbed the Iksen's key, pulling at it so hard his knuckles were white. Behind us, I heard Emery shout, and saw Drake fighting with another Trag. Grayson stepped out, firing and I ducked as a bullet hit the Suvek. Drake ducked around the vent and clobbered the man aiming at Roman and me.

However, I got another wire loose, but it led back to the key pad. I tried to get the keypad to work, but it wasn't. Augh.

Suddenly Roman was distracted, and he stood up.

"I got this," I heard Grayson say as I leaned around the Suvek. "Roman, I got this!"

I saw a Trag restraining Emery with his gun pointed to her head. Shit!

"Drop your gun," Grayson shouted as I pulled on Roman's sleeve. "Disarm that thing!"

"Roman, the key – focus! We only have seconds!" I shouted as Zoeda laughed manically. "Hurry!"

Roman pulled on the key, finally making it give – but I saw Grayson fall.

Roman held up the key. We did it.

"You stopped the clock. Yeah you," Zoeda said, clutching her abdomen. "But you should know," she said as she took something out of her pocket. "Trags always have a backup."

I tried to yank on the wires coming out of the key pad desperately, but the Suvek activated. Drake smashed his fist into the Trag he held by the collar as Roman pulled me away from the Suvek.

We watched helplessly as the Suvek slowly rose, humming, whirling, buzzing and clicking, panels opening and lights coming on.

Suddenly, an immensely strong electromagnetic pulse flash emanated from the device, sending a shockwave burst that threw everyone on the roof off their feet, literally sending us flailing in the air, and my head smacked into the yellow pipes along the low wall of the roof before I crumpled to the ground.


	15. Chapter 15

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 14 ("Unto the Night's Sky Whence We Come")

I came too slowly, holding my throbbing head. Maybe Meheka was right, I needed to leave this super-hero/secret-agent stuff to movie stars and my warriors and scouts. My head hurt with a stabbing pain, I had ringing in my ears and there were annoying little white spots in my vision. Drake rushed over to me, asking, "Are you all right?"

I attempted to sit up, but I felt horribly dizzy. "I need ciper," I said while pressing a hand to my head. "Purse… Where is my purse?" I asked as I tried to look around me but I couldn't – didn't want to move much.

"You have ciper?" he asked, and I nodded as I struggled to sit up and grimaced. "No, Maureen, don't get up."

He moved away and came back with my bag. "Do you have ciper with you?" Drake was saying. "Grayson was shot."

"What…?" I asked, staring at him and feeling as if I was in a fog. I spotted Grayson propped up on one of the large metal vents as Drake repeated what he said, not that my muddled mind was processing much right now. "I – help me to him," I said, struggling to get up. Drake gently helped me up, one arm around my waist, the other carrying my bag for me as I toddled over to Grayson and plopped down next to him.

"I need the ziplock with my ciper…" I said, feeling fatigued.

"I know," Drake said, already digging in my purse.

Oh well, it's not like he'll find anything unexpected.

Just beyond us, Roman was hugging Emery's lip body to him, pleading for her to wake up. I assumed she was alive, only having been knocked out as I had been, and I had enough ciper if he needed some. Once Drake found it in my bag. My head hurt.

Above me the Suvek was blasting it's beam into space – obviously a signal of some type. To whom I could only guess: I knew that there were other ships and people on Atria waiting for the signal from one of the search vessels to say we'd found a new home. I hoped that was what the Suvek was doing. But if Vega set this one off I seriously doubted that was her intent – to contact the cargo and transport ships designated as the first wave of the recolonization effort. My head hurt too much to think about it. "Do you see it?" I asked Drake, wondering what he was doing.

"I don't see it."

I tore my gaze away from the Suvek. "Blue zipper bag… inside pocket," I slurred, watching him pull it out and open the cosmetic bag. I held out my hand, and he hand me the plastic bag with my ciper.

I picked the healthiest sprig of ciper and broke off a bloom. Drake reached for it, but I drew it away. "No, I need it, too. If I do this right, I'll be able to help both of us," I told him. His hand stayed on my back reassuringly as I pierced my skin with the vascular petiole, injecting the red ciper into my forearm. I inhaled sharply from the pain, and Drake placed a hand under my arm. His caring touch helped with the searing sting as the ciper infused with my blood. Drake waited as I broke off the other bloom and did it again, making a large swell in my forearm.

Drake handed me my large 60cc syringe, but I shook my head. "Too much, not good…" I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out a 10cc syringe. I tried to draw out 1cc of ciper infused blood but my hand was shaking so badly.

"Here," he said and finished drawing it for me, but I had to stop him from taking too much. "But that's not enough," he stated, confused – worried, looking at the nearly 2ml in the syringe.

He was so sweet. "No, it's plenty, really; I don't want to cause ciper fire. I have vire, but it's a day old. Vire is best fresh."

I watched him inject it into Grayson's arm as I leaned heavily on my hands, feeling the ciper surge through me, healing my head. At least the throbbing pain and the lightheaded dizziness were fading, and I could think a little more clearly, but the noise coming from the Suvek didn't help the ringing in my ears. My phone rang and I thought I could hear sirens but they sounded far away. Glancing over at Roman, I saw him help Emery up, and I wondered if all my other friends were all right. Across the roof, Zoeda lay propped up on another vent. "What about the Trags?" I asked.

"Out, or dead," Drake stated, and I looked up at him worried. Dead bodies – dead unmarked Atrian bodies were a problem. We needed to get rid of the bodies and without being seen. I needed to get help. Who…? I had no idea where Justin or Dunon were, or if they were all right. Tyson was still out on the street, maybe. Too bad he hadn't been here to help me deactivate the Suvek; he knew more about that kind of thing than I did.

My phone rang again.

Suddenly the Suvek made a clanging noise, and we all looked up. From what I could see it was lilting and the blue blast force from the propulsion thrusters seemed weaker as it began to swerve a little, and the motion of the smaller rotary made the Suvek quaver. "Oh, holy shit—" I heard Drake stammer. "The Suvek!"

"The Suvek – it's – is it going to…?" Emery started to ask as the thrusters began to sputter. But my phone had rung again, and I'd half crawled to get to my phone I'd dropped, hoping it was Justin or Jason calling me.

"No, it's coming down!" Roman said as he pulled Emery aside as Drake grabbed Grayson, who had yet to fully recover, and dragged him behind the elevator shaft.

"Maureen, we have to move," Drake shouted as I scrambled to my feet, moving away shakily, watching in horror as the Suvek began to fall.

Suddenly, Drake grabbed me around the waist and pulled me with him behind the vent, using his body to protect mine as the Suvek crashed on the roof. As the smoke and dust cleared, Drake's arms loosened, and he pushed himself to his feet and offered me a hand up. Below, the sirens of the emergency vehicles grew louder, a woo-woo and nee-naa sounds, indicating their arrival.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" Drake snapped at me as my phone rang again. "You could've been killed."

"No, but we…" For all that the ciper was helping me, I was still somewhat befuddled and the dizziness was back. Fatigued, muddled not thinking clearly, ringing in my ears, dizzy – a concussion? I tried to think more coherently. "The others, the Trags… We can't leave them here," I stammered, thinking aloud. Pull yourself together, I admonished myself. You're an Iksen. There are protocols for such emergencies. "Is everyone all right?" I asked, since that was always the first question to ask in an emergency situation, then looked at Drake. "No, we're okay. Is Zoeda alive?"

He shrugged, and I followed him to where she lay. There was a piece of shrapnel, probably from a deflector panel, that had buried itself into her head and a large bloom of blood on her blouse just below her ribs. I looked at the man lying near her, the one Drake slugged in the face. His head was turned all the way to the side and blood pooled out of his mouth. I turned seeking the one Drake had knocked out, but he had a metal piece sticking out of his back. "The other two?"

"Grayson shot one when he was shot, and the other is down for the count," Drake said, fisting a hand into his other palm with a smack.

My phone rang again. "You're alive! Where are you?" Justin asked anxiously before I could say hello.

"On the roof of the old furniture store," I replied calmly. "We've a problem, the Suvek crashed on the roof and there are five dead unmarked Atrians that have to be disposed of." I heard him repeat it to someone over the distant sounds of the sirens in the background; I supposed he was speaking to Jason, Dunon and Tyson.

"Talgar and Rudsen are here; Baxton told them to find you—"

He was cut off as Rudsen snarled into Justin's phone, "Mahureen, what the fuck are you doing? Where are you?"

I told him.

"We're coming. Stay put for now."

"I can't? The military vehicles, aren't they coming?" I asked. "They will; they had to have noticed the signal from the Suvek."

"Mostly local emergency vehicles and the police for now, but the news crews are here as well," Rudsen said, sounding like he was running. "We're on our way to you."

"No, park a truck behind the furniture store – we have to move the Suvek!" I said, starting to feel frightened. "We can shove it off the roof and you can—"

"Too late for that. We're almost there," he interrupted me and hung up.

What is it with men? We weren't done talking! I went to the edge of the roof as I hit redial to call Justin back. Sure enough, I could already see the emergency vehicles arriving down the side streets trying to work their way into through the crowd. With so many people down, sitting on the ground or struggling to their feet, mulling about, the police and ambulances were having a hard time getting in. That would work in our favor, and, thankfully, the news vans were blocked from driving onto Main Street as well. But the news crews had portable cameras and the reporters were already unloading their equipment. I looked at Drake. "News vans – reporters – this is going to be a huge story." I looked at the smashed up Suvek. "Oh shit! The Military _will _come, and I have a damaged electromagnetic pulse generated Atrian intergalactic transmitter…"

I hurried over to Roman, who along with Emery, was helping Grayson to his feet. "We are running out of time! We have to get _that_ off the roof, fast," I said, pointing to the Suvek and hoping we could get away unseen. "The emergency vehicles and news vans are here – that means the police are here; and news coverage – that will mean military will come. If we don't go now, they will arrest us!"

"No, they won't arrest us – they will arrest them," Grayson interrupted as I continued, "Roman, think. Damage control – we have to leave, and we can't leave the Trags here! Think what it will mean to the government – to the military! If the government gets the Suvac and taps down on what it is and what it did, then goodbye integration – hello martial law. They will lock down the Sector, initiate the hunts and…."

The elevator opened. Drake turned ready to fight, but it was only Erik and Julia who came out.

"Won't the SEU handle this?" Emery asked, but Drake shook his head.

"No, she's right," Roman stated. "That signal would have been seen for miles. It would have gotten the military's attention."

"Especially to find out who we were signaling to," Drake said.

"Which we don't know," I pointed out. Roman looked at me quizzically. "I doubt that the signal was directed at Atria. From what I was told the ARDmur and ARDkam and the ARDvek went to what the humans call the Andromeda Galaxy." Roman nodded. "But why would Vega want to signal them?"

"I doubt Vega was signaling the other exploration vessels," Drake said. "They are engineers, scientists, technicians and tradesmen and their families like we had on our ship! Each ship only about 200 hundred warriors and fighters, the rest were mostly flight crew."

"Wait, who was signally who? Zoe's a Trag – one of those terrorist Atrians that had her markings removed! Taylor said that this Suvek thing could bring an end to humanity! That doesn't sound like a signal to an exploration vessel – it sounds like a phone call home!" Grayson argued.

"Yes, I know," I said, exasperated. "But we have no idea if the signal was strong enough to do that."

"And Maureen is right," Emery said. "We can't risk exposure."

"Exposure of what? Of the Atrian terrorists?" Grayson said as Erik walked over and punched the Trag who was starting to get up until he collapsed again. "We've proof, right here and—"

"But there is more at stake here than you realize! Not all Atrians are bad – most of us are good people – like Drake and Roman and Sophia." I had to remember to say them instead of us. Gad, where is my brain? "But if they find them," I indicated the Trags lying on the ground, er, roof, "it will be bad for every Atrian! I called for help. They will be dealt with, but you have to let us," I said, indicating Drake and me, "handle it."

"What are you saying?" Grayson asked as the elevator bell dinged. Drake and Erik turned on reflex, ready to do battle. But as soon as the door opened and I saw Talgar and Rudsen step out, I placed a hand on Drake's arm. "It's Gar and Rudsen; they work for my guardian father in his shop," I explained, but Drake didn't relax until he spotted Tyson, Justin and Dunon step out of the elevator as well.

"Why are you still here?" Gar shouted at me, well us, as Tyson ran over to the remains of the Suvek.

"We're leaving. We're just taking them with us," I said, indicating the Trags.

Gar pulled out his phone, ignoring the way Grayson was staring intently at him. Gar, Talgar, had been one of the first to have his markings removed, only it hadn't worked too well. He had burn scars on his face and neck, that most people didn't stare at because he was such a burly man. I hoped it looked like chem burns and not a marking removal to him.

"Dunon, Justin, help get the Atrians off the roof. Gar and I will dispense with the Suvek," Rudsen said, taking off his coat. "Tyson, leave it – help get the Atrians off the roof," he admonished him as Roman and I dragged one Trag, and Dunon another, to the elevator. Drake hefted Zoeda over his shoulder. Emery, still supporting Grayson hit the down button once we were all in. As the door closed I saw Erik, Tyson and Justin pulled over the one with the metal piece sticking out of his head. We all barely fit, and I had to stand with my body pressed into Drake's.

"What now?" Julia asked.

As the elevator descended, my mind was swimming as I tried to figure out what to do. "Roman, you're going to have to give an interview," I said.

Although I couldn't see him because Dunon and Julia were between us, I could tell he was surprised. "What? Why?" he asked.

"You're the most logical one – being leader of your people and all," Julia said.

"I don't want the military or Homeland Security making up a cover-up story about some military experiment gone askew. It's best for all of us if you simply admit the truth," I told him.

"If I do that, it will end integration," I heard Roman say.

"Not necessarily," Emery said. "Think about it, admit what it is, a communication device that the Atrians have, but that the persons who took it were not authorized to do so. So you and Drake tried to stop it from happening."

"The important thing is to have them believe that you tried," Julia said and I nodded to her. "None of the leaders of your people can get out of the Sector, so you had to do it – you and Drake – so you enlisted us to help you."

"You can use it to show how Atrian internment is a bad thing," Emery was saying. "That had your Iksen been allowed to act more decisively – sending out technicians that would've known how to deactivate it instead of you – the unauthorized activation of the Suvek might have been avoided."

"Emery's right," I told him, "turn this into a political advantage."

The door opened and Emery and Grayson all but fell out of the elevator, but Sophia and Lukas reached out to steady them. We hauled out the bodies and dropped them.

"They have a van," Jason said, indicating three of my Tgorsad men from the houses who held jobs near town. I was so relieved to see them.

"Get the bodies out of here. And help Gar and Rudsen with the Suvek," I told the men as Emery helped Grayson sit on a crate.

"Would someone tell me what is going on?" Grayson demanded. "Who are these people – Trags?"

"No they are not Trags," I replied. Well, I could see that Grayson was feeling better, thankfully, although he was leaning heavily on Emery, but he obviously wasn't thinking clearly.

"What are you saying?" Grayson asked and Lukas was watching me intently. "That guy Gar has – had tats, I saw them – the burn scars."

Oh, this was turning into a nightmare. Trust Grayson to figure out what they were. "Yes, there are Atrians outside the Sector, but not all of them are Trags – most are not," I pleaded. "I promise to tell you everything, but we've a bigger problem. We have to diffuse the situation or the Sector will be locked down."

"What is that?" Emery asked as the elevator opened. Several of us turned, a reflex of the tension we'd been under, but it was only Erik and Tyson and Justin hauling out the last Trag from the roof.

"First things first," I said, getting everyone's attention as Erik and Justin dragged the last Trag over the men waving at them by the back door. "Roman, you need to give an interview. Tell the press what happened, only make sure you emphasize that you tried everything you could to stop the unauthorized activation of the Suvek. Sophia and Drake should stand with you, on camera. If Emery will to, with the rest of us behind you, we might be able to convince the humans that this was an unavoidable event and that you're sorry it happened."

"Going public so the government can't cover it up," Lukas stated, and I nodded, glad that he caught on. "Good idea. I can put it out on my blog as well."

"And I can email all my family into downloading it from your blog and spreading it out across the country," I stated as Tyson approached us.

"And prove that what the Red Hawks have been saying about unmarked Atrians causing trouble for humans is true," Drake stated.

I shrugged. "Better the truth than lies," I said and turned to Roman. "Only please, be _the_ Iksen of your people – the Itrejivil Iksen."

"I can't lie about that," Roman stated.

"Why not?" Drake asked. "Castor is dead, that only leaves you as Iksen of the Zwahan – the ruling tribe of Atrians."

"Be Abour Atedi then, father of all Atrians," Tyson suggested. "Those outside the SEU won't know if you've stepped up to the position or not, so claim that you are. Your Hwatab will back you, won't they? The US government and Homeland Security want **_a_** leader of the Atrians, one that they can point to – be that person."

"He _is_ the Itrejivil Iksen," I stated definitively staring at Roman. "If we all support him, he is. Period. His Iksen will recognize him and… What?" I asked Roman.

"Nothing," he replied.

I turned to Grayson. "Are you up to this or would you like to stay here? I could have Justin take you home."

"No," he said, but he was fatigued, I could see it.

"You need rest," I said as Emery brushed his forehead.

"You're feverish," she said.

"He was given ciper; it needs time to heal him," I told her. "You need rest," I emphasized to Grayson. But he stood his ground; he wasn't leaving. Not yet anyways.

We exited en masse, Roman and Drake going first. The street was a mess; it seemed as if every glass window or glass plane had been blasted out, including car windows and street lights. All the businesses were dark as if they didn't have electricity. But the buildings all stood.

Lukas pointed out the Baton Rouge's news station, WBRZ-TV's crew. "Sydney McCrea, I know her," he said. "She's tenacious but I know she has integrity."

"As much as any reporter," Grayson said.

I recognized her, a lovely dark-skinned woman who had been one of the reporters that followed Grayson's mother's trial. I also saw Dennis Michaels not too far away, a reporter from Atlanta's ABC affiliate, WSB-TV. "As good as any," I said, letting Roman and Lukas lead the way.

Lukas went up to the cameraman for Sydney McCrea and as soon as he lowered his camera, pointed out Roman. "Roman's the Atrian Iksen – their leader. He was the one that tried to stop that Suvek thing from going off," Lukas said.

That got Sydney's attention. She immediately walked up to Roman, microphone in hand. "You're the leader of the Atrians?" she asked as if wanting to but not believing him. Course with Roman's, Sophia's and Drake's markings it was obvious they were Atrian; they were three of the seven – and seen on TV regularly, so she had to know who they were.

Roman glanced at Drake and me, and we both nodded at him. I nudged Drake. "Stand next to him," I hissed since Sophia was already moving forward next to her brother. Drake walked forward standing behind Emery and Sophia. Julia, Erik and Grayson and I stood behind them. If the camera angle was right, we'd be in the shot and on TV.

"My name is Roman, I am Abour Atedi, Iksen of the Zwahan – the ruling tribe of Atrians," he stated assuredly.

Good, Roman, that was good.

"Can you tell us what happened here today?" Sydney asked.

Roman nodded. "Yes, but I want assurances that I will not be quoted out of context."

I cringed, not something you say to a reporter if you want to be on their good side, and I could see that Sydney was taken aback, almost affronted.

Sophia spoke up quickly, "It's happened before," and Sydney looked at her, "when we've given interviews, they only showed snippets and not the full story. Lukas says you have integrity, so we'd like to—"

"Make a statement first, then I'll answer questions," Roman interjected. Sydney nodded, appeased and signaled her cameraman and held her microphone out toward Roman.

"I am Roman, son of the late Nox, and I am Abour Atedi, Iksen of the Itrejivil. Today, our Suvac, an electromagnetic pulse communications device, was activated without approval of myself or that of the Hwatab, our council of elders. The Suvac is an intergalactic transmitter, designed to send a signal to the other peoples of my home world to let them know that the search for a viable planet had been successful and for the people still on Atria to make preparations for transferring to the new world."

"Drake, my sister and I along with several of our human friends…" he glanced at me, then back as he continued, " tried to stop the premature activation, since Atrian and human relations are still so precarious, but unfortunately we were not able to prevent the few dissidents that set this action into play."

Sydney moved her microphone to her own mouth. "What exactly is the Suvac, and what did it do?"

I saw the WAFB reporter, Arthur Brench and his cameraman recording Roman's statements.

Roman explained as best he could what the device was and what its intent was and I wondered how much of his information was fabricated, but he did an adequate job and his presentation and composure was spot on. "However, understand, the persons responsible for today were _not_ under the authority of the Hwatab; we of the Hwatab _do not_ condone the activation of the Suvac, nor feel that it was appropriate at this time."

"Dennis Michaels – reporter from Atlanta's ABC affiliate, WSB-TV." I recognized him from the nightly news. He was quite popular and did many interviews as well as reporting on major events. "So will the people of your planet try and contact you?"

"Yes, they will," Roman stated firmly. "Only we've yet to set up means for communication. So far integration has not progressed well; human and Atrian relations are still tenuous at best. Atrians are still distrusted and not allowed any technical devices within the Sector."

"Roman, you said that you don't have means for communication with your people," Sydney pushed.

"No, we have means aboard the Atrian ship, the ARDhet, but we are prevented from having access to our ship. Without that access, we won't be able to respond if the answering signal is sent. So, because of the restriction, we have no way of informing our people that the signal that went off today was a premature."

As Roman continued to answer question, I moved over to Grayson. "Here, lean on me," I said, but he shook his head. "You look like your knees are about to buckle," I said softly as I put an arm around his waist. "Not that I'm doing much better."

"You?" he asked, not pushing me away but not leaning on me either.

"I hit my head," I said softly. "I think I had a concussion, but I used ciper to heal us."

"You did what?" he asked, and one of the reporters looked at us.

I leaned in close to him and lowered my voice. "I promised I'd tell you everything, but please keep your voice down. You were shot, remember? And you're alive. I used ciper to heal you."

"Are you all right?" a woman asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine."

"We were hurt up there. But we wanted to stay and show our support of Roman. And the Atrians. Not the Trags – but the Atrians like Drake, Sophia and Roman," Grayson said in a well practiced political voice.

"Maybe you should sit," the woman suggested, and I did see the microphone in her hand.

"Actually, I think we should head home, eh?" I asked Grayson. "I see Justin and Jason over there, and they can give us a ride."

Grayson nodded. I turned to Julia who had moved over to see if we were all right and leaned in close to her ear. "I have to go. Grayson and I need rest."

Julia nodded. "Sure. Are you all right?"

"I will be. Stay with Emery and Roman. We have to make sure that the integration program moves forward. Like Roman said, the communications device we need is on our ship – Roman and I have to get on the command deck and send a signal to the home world. It's imperative Roman gets the humans to see that."

Julia nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

I listened to Roman's comments about the exploration of the Milky Way for a new planet to colonize. "This area of space, what the humans call the Milky Way, is 100,000–120,000 light-years in diameter and contains billions of stars, thousands with orbiting planets. It's why we came here. The Earth's solar system lies within what you call the Orion–Cygnus Arm of this Milky Way. There were three cluster galaxies we considered, but we chose this one and what you call the Andromeda Galaxy, although we have another name for it. Our hope was to find an uninhabited planet in one of these galaxies to claim – crashing here was not our intention."

The reporters were listening as were some of the people who'd gathered to listen. The cameramen were recording his speech. Jason and Tyson were recording it on their phones and I knew that they'd email it to the Iksen and for distribution. Lukas was recording it, too, and it would be picked up by my people as well and spread to hundreds of websites and online social network sites. Hopefully, others would hear this and listen.

There I thought, that would buy us time, I thought as I led Grayson away.

Justin and I drove Grayson home and if he was surprised that I knew where he lived, he didn't show it.

We followed him to his living room, and I sat with him on the sofa. "I know you have questions, I'll answer what I can." Justin got up and went looking for a bathroom.

"I don't know where to begin," Grayson said. "You're both Atrain?" he asked and I nodded. "But you're not a Trag?"

I shook my head. "I know that with everything going on over the last few months, it's frightening to know that there are still some of us out here, in hiding. But I assure you, my people, the ones I live with, are not Trag. We are those who escaped the hunts and are laying low, hiding, trying to survive, but we have no animosity toward humans."

"How can I be sure of that?" he asked.

I smiled. "You're alive. Let me?" I asked, indicating the place he'd been shot.

He nodded, so I helped him take off his shirt as Justin returned with a dishcloth and bowl of water. The bullet wound had closed, and Grayson touched it as if to reassure himself as I cleaned him up a little. "Ciper?" he asked. I nodded and he relaxed back on the sofa. "How many are you?"

"Quite a few," I said. He had a lot more questions along that line, but I had to be careful what I said. "Suffice to say, we are more than self-sufficient, we actually give back to the community," I stated.

"How?" he asked.

I took a breath. "I need to know, are you friend or foe? Can I trust you?" I asked. He was quiet, and I waited, but I finally added, "Think about my actions – what I've done. Or those of my cousins. Do we act like we hate humans?" He shook his head, and I tilted my head slightly. "I know your parents hate us, but you've been an upright guy. Can I trust you, like we can Emery, Julia and Lukas? Can we be friends?"

He didn't answer.

"You need rest," I said and rose to go.

"No, I don't think you're Trag," Grayson said, "But… there is a lot more going on than you're telling me."

"Grayson, there is, but it's not at all what you may think. But so much is at stake, and if your TV, movies and conspiracy theorists are right, we have a lot to fear. So if I seem hesitant, put yourself in my shoes. The more humans I trust, the riskier it becomes. I want to trust you like Drake does, but I don't know you well. Yet."

He nodded and closed his eyes. "Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. You'll feel all better by morning, I promise," I told him and left.

Jason was waiting on the front step. "What now?" he asked. "Meheka called, she's annoyed you haven't answered your phone. She wants you to come to the houses."

I shrugged. "I need to convene the Hwatab, but I want Roman, Sophia and Drake there, too."

"Well lets go see what they want," Justin pointed out. "and we'll bring them to the houses tomorrow."

~~~~~o~~~~~

Last night, Mekeha's house had been full of people: the Iksens, Seconds and every Atrian who had been with me on the street, including Gar and Rusden were in the dining room as well as half the adults and the sunroom was packed. To my surprise, Jhina, Vega's older sister, and Poulos had come from the bayou, as well as Jesytour and Muna from Eljida. I asked that Sayora be seated at the Hwatab table, and she almost refused until I told her that I didn't blame her, I just wanted to know more about the Suvek, Vega's plan and anything she could tell me about the signal.

_"What message was programmed into the pulse beam?" Patrick asked. _

_"None, it was set up as a beacon, nothing else," Sayora replied. _

She'd mentioned that she thought Drake would disarm it, and regretted building the device. She didn't know to whom the signal was sent.

Everyone living in the houses, in the bayou and working in the science sectors had been placed on alert and told to report anything, even something trivial, to Ihmen. Jhina said she'd pass word to the others in the bayou to be cautious. Reid gave her a Atrian cell iPhone and showed her how to use it.

~~~~~o~~~~~

It seemed that Roman and Drake were waiting for me the next day back at school, because as soon as I got to my locker, they both approached me. "What was said?" Roman asked, standing next to me while Drake leaned against the locker on my other side.

"The Suvek was just a signal beam, and according to the engineer who built it, there was no message transmitted, only a signal. We still don't know to whom or why; we're working on that. We've everyone on alert and watching to see what the government does, but so far, it looks like nothing's changed," I told him as I opened my locker and exchanged my books. "What news from the Sector?"

"Vega's been arrested," Drake told me. I waited to hear more, but he shrugged. "Several of the Trags were sent to the crate."

"That's it?" I asked as I closed my locker. "She commits treason – again – and is locked up?"

"What did you expect?" Roman asked.

But I sighed heavily. "We'd have taken much more decisive action," I replied and turned to go.

"That's it?" Drake asked.

I turned to face him. "What do you mean, that's it? Yes, now we watch and wait. My people are still pushing ahead on our plans and I hope that Roman," I looked at him, "gains more success with getting the integration program passed," I moderated my tone, no point getting riled up. "We're lucky that Roman's interview became national news and it's being picked up internationally, just as our arrival did. That and Lukas' blog has gone viral, thanks in part to the fact that my people are downloading it on about a thousand sites. I think we've prevented it from being covered up. That's the big thing, making sure humans know it was unintentional and we tried to stop it."

"Why?" Drake asked. "We're still locked up. Security is tighter than ever."

"I'm sure it is. But consider this, had Homeland Security and the military had their way when we'd landed, we'd have been collected up and hidden in a underground compound in the desert and the entire incident written off as a military experiment 'to see how humans would react to an alien invasion' – a Roswell all over again. Then they'd dispose of us after torturing us and experimenting on our bodies and classifying all the documents."

"You sound like a conspiracy theorist," Drake stated. "There were too many of us to do that."

"I dunno, I think they might have wanted to," I said. "I have asked my scouts to conduct a census, and 250 of our people are unaccounted for. Eva Benton and Mr. Burk worked for a pharmaceutical company, and they told Julia that they'd tried experimenting with ciper on humans and they knew how to identify activated ciper in a DNA profile. How is that do you suppose?"

Roman lowered his gaze, and Drake shrugged. "From those who were captured before we were put in the Sector or the crates," Drake surmised.

He was right of course. "Our last Zæsak Iksen, Robert Grund, said before he vanished that there are secret locations of imprisoned Atrians allegedly held at various labs and government installations, some alive, some dead, somewhere," I said. "He tried to find them and rescue them, but he's been missing for a while now. That's why the Zæsak named Ian Iksen."

The bell rang, and we hurried to class. Taylor's seat was empty, but Grayson was there, and from what I could tell, he looked fully recovered. I caught up to him after class and asked him how he felt.

"I'm good," he said. He drew me aside and lowered his voice. "I have a scar on my back and stomach where the bullet went through me, but I don't have any pain or stiffness. Thank you. I'm not sure how you did it, but thank you."

"So you're not afraid of us," I asked. "Those of my people on the outside?"

"I still have questions, but I figure that with everything you've done, you're all right." He looked down the hall. "The three you eat with, they are too?"

I nodded. "The people I brought with me to work on the float, the three that had your back…"

He nodded once. "I remember them," he said and normally I'd have been concerned, but I could feel acceptance from him. "How do you make money? Do you work?"

"We've set up small businesses, some based on our technology and others on crafts, selling things, making things," I admitted. "We are communal, everyone who can pitches in. Mostly we keep very low profiles, and try to avoid detection."

"Did you have you markings removed?" he asked me and I shook my head.

"I have hyperpigmentation, mine are really pale, but I fluoresce when wet," I admitted. "There are a few of my tribe who have pale markings, it's genetic, but others have had them bleached. It's really painful to do it, though."

The bell rang and I had to go.

In chem, Drake was deep in thought as I passed his seat, but from the look he gave me, I knew he had questions. However, he left before I did, and I didn't see him again until Biology, but he was across the room, talking to Teri. I asked Emery if she'd heard anything about Taylor, but she shook her head. "No one has seen her," she said as Mr. Delgado began his rounds, quizzing us.

When my History class let out, my phone rang. I excused myself to Loraine and went to the hall to answer it, but it went to voicemail. I was checking to see who called when Roman and Drake walked up, wanting to know what was up. "I dunno, it was Ihmen," I said.

"She's the tall, pretty lady from your Hwatab?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Yes, Meheka's daughter, her Second."

Roman looked around, then said, "Over here," as he pulled me with him and Drake into the supply room.

"Okay," I said and called her back. "Ihmen, it's Mahureen. I've you on speaker with Roman and Drake. What's up?"

"Roman, hello honored Iksen," Ihmen said, then proceeded to give me her report, "Kenton called from the SETI Institute Allen Telescope Array and Radio Astronomy Laboratory, and he said that the beam simply shot out into space. They and all the other Arrays systems from Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, Array Operations Center in Socorro, New Mexico to St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands are now on alert to pick up any and all alien transmissions. Duran Kraft's project is now fully funded, and he's being sent to the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia and has been given the added task to watch as well," she said.

"Duran was one of our astrophysicists who was at Harvard introducing Atrian radio astronomy technology as his undergraduate thesis under the guise of obtaining a PhD," I told the guys. "Is that it?" I asked Ihmen, dumfounded. "They're simply going to listen for our return transmission?"

"The Suvek's beam shot off into an area of space where there isn't much of anything. It wasn't directed to where the other search vessels went or at Atria," she said. "I'll keep you posted, but the elders all want to wait and watch. Besides, there's not a lot we can do but try to rush up our efforts to find a suitable planet. There is talk of approaching the Russian Federal Space Agency with the technical blueprints and computer programs for a Kepler III."

"It's an Atrian deep space probe," I clarified for Roman and Drake.

"Yes, our deep space probe with our propulsion drive capabilities and reconnaissance space exploration technology," Ihmen said as Roman looked up. "The elders all voted to do it, we only need your approval."

I knew that was only a formality; how and to whom to contact was most likely already in the works. "Do it." I said. "I thought you wanted to call it the Kerhone spacecraft?"

"He didn't like the idea," Ihmen said, and I laughed softly as Drake looked up.

I turned around seeing Erik, Sophia, Emery and Julia staring at me. "What?"

"Atrian space probe?" Erik asked, and I nodded. "You're Atrian?" he asked, but it was Roman who spoke up.

"Yes, she's Atrian; she's the Iksen of the Tgorasad," he stated. "Her people are mostly on the outside of the Sector, and no, they're not Trags."

"Oh, well, that's a relief," Erik said, but Julia put a hand on his arm, saying, "She's on our side, remember?"

"You've known?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"I know; she helped save my life," Julia said.

"And Grayson's," Emery stated. "Erik, she helped Roman, Drake and me destroy the black ciper, and helped save Lukas' life, and she was with us, trying to stop the Suvek…."

"Oh, well then," he said with a roll of his eyes, but he let the matter drop.

"What's next?" Sophia asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know," I admitted. "Depends on how the government reacts."

"They will try to cover it up," Julia sated.

"That may be hard," Jason stated. "I was talking to Lukas and we saw you come in here. Not a very inconspicuous place to hold a meeting."

"It was convenient. What may be hard?" I asked, since he'd said it.

Jason came forward more. "Lukas' taping of Roman's interview on his blog has gone viral. I had a message from Carl that the Roscosmos and the even the State Space Agency of Ukraine picked up the Suvek signal and they are now on watch."

"Roscosmos?" Erik asked.

"The Russian Federal Space Agency," Lukas said and turned to Jason. "How do you know that?"

"Connections," he said cryptically.

"So for now, we wait and let my people keep searching," I told Roman. "And you give any speeches you can on improving human-Atrian relations and trust."

"Anything else?" Roman asked crossing his arms, apparently not liking to be told what to do.

I'd have to remember that. I was used to leading. "If I think of anything, I'll speak to you about it," I assured him, and he looked appeased.


	16. Chapter 16

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 15 ("The Preemptive Approach To Goodwill and Hope")

I used to hear people say that no news was good news. I'm not at all certain if that is true or not, but for me, regarding the signal shot out of the Suvek, it appeared so. Not that there hadn't been some fallout from the activation of the device, but so far the American government, and most of the world, were on wait and watch mode to see what if anything the Atrians would do, both those in the Sector and those out in space, especially the ones from our home world.

But that was the least of my problems at the moment: Erik and Grayson both knew about me and about my people living outside the Sector. Course so far, neither had approached me about it, not that I actually hung out with them, but they weren't giving me cold, accusing stares either. Again, no reaction is a good sign, right?

Since I'd stayed the night out at the houses these last three nights, I arrived at school on my own again (since Byron still refused to be seen with me, and Gareth, Mason and Arnund had always kept their distance) as the SEU bus revved up to leave.

Not at all surprising, Roman and Sophia came toward me as I walked up to the school entrance. "Loraine said you'd been with the elders all night," he said as way of greeting.

Good morning to you, too, I thought as he added, "Can you tell me what's happening?"

"Sure," I said as he drew us aside. I followed him to a quiet place to talk where we couldn't be easily overheard.

"Ian's Second, his son, Jhark, is reviewing evacuation scenarios with our warriors, just in case, and Jerdon is helping Ihmen with all the information we're getting from the people watching the internet and from our science sectors. Kenton and Duran are part of the human teams listening for any Atrian response to the Suvek's signal, but there has been no response as of yet. We're still speculating as to why Vega did it, but even though my man on the SEU managed to be with the soldiers that questioned her, Vega is being very obdurate. She still persists that it will bring down the end of humanity," I told them.

"But nothing, no return signal?" Sophia asked.

I shook my head. "Nothing. There is nothing in that area of space: no solar systems, nebulas, or anything. Just space."

But Roman didn't look convinced. "What about your people, what are they doing?"

"Kurke, one of the metalologist, has almost recreated the metal we need for the ship's missing panels. He said he's close enough to file his patent. Deyne, another metallurgic-chemist, is considering going to Mexico to set up foundries for the clear polymer-aluminum and transparent aluminum we'll need. Kerift said the formula for the fuel is ready for production, we only need a facility. We've seven people working currently in the aerospace research and development fields, four in other areas of scientific areas; ten more are working on their university PhD's in sciences, and we're about to launch a new type of clean-drive vehicle with General Motors. The rest are living day to day," I explained.

Roman looked thoughtful as he mulled over what I said.

"What about in the Sector?" I asked. "What's the reaction there?"

Sophia looked down, and Roman shook his head, saying, "Nothing to report. The Hwatab isn't doing anything. We've given them the names of several key Trags, and they haven't taken any action against them."

I was shocked, but then it fit – they were ineffective in my opinion. "Roman, could any of your tribal elders be a Trag?" I asked him warily, but he stared at me as if affronted, and Sophia looked shocked that I'd even suggest such a thing. "The mutiny had to have high placed support. I was told by my elders that Edlund, Vega, Jasper, Caster and Uhstra started the dissent, then encouraged the conspiracy that led to the mutiny."

"Do you have any proof?" Sophia asked.

"Only the word of my elders – who were aboard the ship," I replied. I'd told him that before, surely he remembered.

"So in other words, no," Roman said, but I could see that my suggestion bothered him. "We have to get to class," he said and walked away.

I looked at Sophia as we followed behind him. "Did I miss something?"

"Edlund is in the crates for treason and murder," she said softly. "But he's also Durneik's brother, the fourth member of the Hwatab, and Durren's father."

"Edlund's brother is an Iksen? Really?" I asked dumbly and she nodded. "Okay. Odd. But Vega and Edlund are in the crates, and Uhstra, Jasper and Castor are dead, right? So the main conspirators—"

Roman stopped and turned to face us. "Uhstra isn't dead, he was sent to the crates."

"Uhstra's alive?" I gasped, almost choking. "He'd tried to kill your father onboard the ship!"

"It wasn't Uhstra; it was Ghyden who tried to kill my father, and he was terminated for treason," Sophia stated.

"Ghyden…? He was on the guard onboard ship," I said, trying to remember him. "I'd heard the name; he was… I thought he was Iwabas… or from their section of the ship." I looked up at her. "Can you find out more about him?"

"I can try, but why?" she asked.

"Something that's not coming to me, but he's connected to Vega – indirectly – or…" I said, and Roman regarded me skeptically. "I can't remember." I'll have to ask Patrik later. "Durren, are you on friendly terms with him?" I asked Sophia, going back to the previous connection she'd made. I'd never seen Roman with him unless it was when all seven from the Sector were together, not that I followed Roman around or anything.

"Not particularly, he keeps to himself," she replied.

"But he's one of the seven chosen for the integration project," I stated, mentally keeping his connection firmly in my mind. His uncle was the fourth seat of the Hwatab – the Aborajow Islander tribes – the natives of the third continent of Atria and closely related to the Zwahan tribe.

Sophia nodded. "He's really quiet, reads a lot… He's never seemed like the type to be involved with anything," she was saying.

"But he is related to someone who wanted to overthrow your father," I pointed out. "I'm sorry. I'm seeing intrigue where there might not be any. I'm still trying to figure out why Edlund, Vega, Jasper, Caster and Uhstra wanted so desperately to come here that they'd crash the ship to do so and start a war with…" Start a war with the humans. We didn't have enough warriors and airmen, not here, but we did back on Atria. Did they think we could win such a conflict?

Sophia looked at me worriedly. "It's nothing," I told her. "We need to get to class."

"No, not nothing," Roman said, stopping me.

"I have questions, things I've wondered that no one wants to answer," I told him. "For instance, why was the Hwatab of both our counties on one search vessel, but all the members of individual tribal councils were left back on Atria? And your father, why was so he so sure he'd find the new home world here in this plejira galaktyka – this Milky Way Galaxy. The Grand General Council sent three ships to explore our galaktyka but chose to send _one_ ship sent here – for a galaktyka of this size? And _all_ our Ikseyan were onboard the ARDhet – _all_ of them. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"Because we were not the first Atrians here," Roman stated, which shocked me as I hadn't heard that before and wondered why not.

Not the first in this ukladesznej – this solar system? Who? When?

"We entered this planet's orbit because there was a signal emanating from this ukladesznej. However, it was only a relay left in orbit of the furthest planet of this wukiazda. But once my father and the Hwatab determined that there were no Artians on the surface of the only inhabitable planet, my father ordered the relay be turned off, and he gave the order to move on."

This wukiazda – this star. "Because there were indigenous people on the planet," I stated, again obvious.

"Scientifically and technologically advanced indigenous people, and the pollution levels were also of concern," he said. "So, he gave the order to keep looking, even though we were running low on supplies."

"How low?" I asked. "I thought we had enough food to last everyone for another fifteen to twenty years or more."

"The food packs in two of the main storage compartments had became contaminated and people were getting sick," Sophia said. "So our father wanted us to send for another research vessel from home, but…"

"There were those who worried we would run out of food…?" I asked as the first bell rang. "Shit, we're late. Can we talk about this later?" I asked as we started running for class.

"Yeah. Later," Roman said offhandedly.

I had the feeling that if Roman, Sophia and I ever sat down and told each other everything we knew, we'd have a really good idea of everything that had happened.

As we entered homeroom for English Lit, I was surprised and pleased to see Taylor in her seat. More surprising was that she was wearing a support collar on her neck, wrapped in a silk scarf of course, her arm in a splint and sling, and quite a bit of makeup, even for her. She turned when she saw me looking at her, and then stared straight ahead, but I assumed that it was because Principal Weston had begun his morning announcement.

However, after class I saw Drake approach Taylor, but she stepped back from him and held up her hand as one of her friends picked up her bag to hand it to her.

"C'mon," Loraine said, trying to draw me away, but I couldn't help but watch Drake and Taylor. "I overheard her telling her cluster of friends this morning that she had been in the hospital since the car accident," she was saying as she led me away. "Taylor was really pissed off that Drake didn't come see her."

"Did he know she'd been in an accident?" I asked, turning to look at her.

Loraine shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, how could he? He doesn't have a phone, and no one checked on her, did we?"

"I didn't think to, no," I admitted. "I'd assumed that since Drake had told her to go, to drive away, that's what she'd done."

"She said her car was totaled, and it almost blew up with her inside," Loraine stated. I listened as we walked to the end of the corridor about how the paramedics and the fire department had to pull her from her car.

We parted, each going to our next class, and as I entered chem, I was shocked to see that I'd beaten Drake to class for the first time. In fact he slipped into his seat just before the bell rang. Mr. Jacobson handed back our last quiz, congratulating me on my grade when he handed me mine.

"Another 100%," Lisa mumbled with derision.

I'd missed one – a miscalculation on my part. I wondered how she'd done.

"Miss Turpin," Mr. Jacobson said, making Lisa turn to face front. "Since many of you are concerned that Miss Stone is throwing off the bell curve," he said, and I almost palmed my face at the pronouncement, "I'll have you know that I don't calculate her score in with the rest of you. However, Drake here seems to be as adept at chemistry as Miss Stone is," he said as he handed Drake his test. "A perfect score. Congratulations."

He handed Joan and Kris theirs, without comment.

I waited to see if he'd comment on Durren's test, and sure enough, Mr. Jacobson said, 'well done,' to him, which meant he'd had at least a 94% on his exam because Mr. Jacobson only commented on those who earned an 'A'.

He reviewed the questions on the exam, then began the lecture on the next chapter. By the time I stood up to go at the end of class, I noticed that Drake was out the door, like usual.

In Biology, Taylor was moved over to Katie's and Joanne's worktable by the windows, and I noticed that she sat in the seat with her back to the room. I asked Emery if she'd heard about Taylor's car crash, but Emery said she hadn't until today. "I thought you were close," I said, wondering if anyone had known. "Did Grayson know?" Who else in our circle was close to her?

"If he did, he didn't tell me," she replied. "Had to be awful though, almost having your car blow up. I'd heard that there was gas all over the pavement under her car and it had caught on fire. The fire truck got to her just in time."

"But no one knew before today?" I asked, wondering why. "I mean, didn't _anyone_ know she'd been in the hospital?"

Emery shrugged, and I felt horrible. Poor girl.

I waited outside the door at the end of class, hoping to talk to her, but Taylor almost brushed passed me. "Taylor," I called out, touching her good arm. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry. Are you all right? – I mean, besides the arm and your neck."

"Yeah, well, you had other concerns," she said dismissively and turned to go.

"I had a concussion," I told her, and Taylor's eyes widened as she turned back to me. "I – the blast threw me and slammed my head on a pipe. After I was checked out, my Me-ma kept me home under observation."

"I'd heard that Grayson was shot, but he wasn't admitted – so, that can't be true, right?" Taylor asked, her eyes narrowing. "I mean, if he had really been shot, he would've to had to go to the hospital – but he wasn't, so…"

"You heard about that?" I asked, and she bobbed a sort of nod.

"It's a small town; everyone knows everything," she said, then added, "except for some people who are only into their own kind."

I turned my head to follow where she was looking and saw Drake approaching. "I'm not sure who to believe, actually." She flipped her hand dismissively, adding, "You all have excuses."

"Taylor, I was kept at home after my doctor examined me. Grayson was shot, but he was lucky, it wasn't too bad. And Emery was knocked unconscious, too. All of us got hurt in that electromagnetic pulse blast…"

"I have to get to class," Taylor said.

"Taylor, wait," I said, touching her arm again. "Drake couldn't have known you'd been hurt; he doesn't have a phone – they are not permitted in the Sector."

"I was in there for days," she said, sounding pained, "and he didn't even ask if I was all right. He could've gone to my house, or asked any of my friends…"

"But he doesn't know them," I replied, wondering why I was prying into their relationship. I wanted to ask about the baby, if it was still all right, but didn't dare. "Emery only found out that you had that horrible accident today, as did I. No one said anything yesterday – or the day before apparently – I wasn't here Monday."

She stared at me, then glanced in Drake's direction. "It's—"

"I'm just glad that you're all right," I said, glad she seemed to be doing better.

"I wouldn't say that," she replied cryptically, then added, "Thank you, I'm fine," sincerely. "It's nice that you asked."

I watched her walk away, confused, wondering what she'd meant. I should have asked about the baby, and yet couldn't. Maybe Sophia would, or Emery, they knew her better than I did. I turned to go to PE and saw Drake standing there, watching me, his arms crossed. His gaze flickered away, then back, before he turned and walked away. I watched him go, wondering what was up with him, and realized that I couldn't read his feelings well, only knowing that something was bothering him. I turned, glancing back down the corridor where Taylor had gone, and wondered if it was because she was upset at him. 'Some people who are only into their own kind…' she'd said, clearly about Drake. But how could he have possibly known?

I shook my head and hurried of to PE.

Later as I walked to my locker after US History, I heard Roman asking Drake if things were all right between him and Taylor, but Drake shook his head. "She's angry that I wasn't there for her," he said. "How was I supposed to know? I thought she'd gotten away."

"But you did check on her, didn't you?" Roman asked, but I kept walking. I already knew the answer to that question, even as Drake replied, "No. I was helping you…" I didn't hear the rest. He hadn't known, and he hadn't gone to check on her. I wondered why, but it wasn't my business.

Since I'd missed a day of school, I grabbed a sandwich and an apple from the food line at lunch and sat by myself so I could finish my Spanish homework. I looked about, but Drake was not in the cafeteria. The popular girls, the ones Taylor normally hung around filled the table near me, chatting away with each other without any care of who'd overhear them. Annoyed, I kept my head down, concentrating on the grammar of my sentence structure.

"I'm so glad that she's breaking it off with Drake," Sabine said. "I mean, he's not an unattractive guy, if you like that sort of inter-racial-with-an-alien thing, but talk about the wrong sort."

"Well, she got something from it – apparently; she has acquired Wonder Woman strength. Did you see how she crushed that soda can?" Emma asked. "Some kind of kinky sexual transference."

"Like some sort of STD?" Riley asked, as if whispering loudly across the table. "I heard she was pregnant and was held up in the hospital because she miscarried. But Taylor denies it."

"Thank God! Wouldn't you? I mean, who'd want a mutant half-alien baby?" Sabine hissed loudly.

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, remembering Taylor referring to her baby as mutant. So she miscarried? I'd have to talk to Emery about it, or Sophia, see if they could get Taylor to confirm it. I looked for Drake as subtly as I could, but still hadn't come in.

"Could you imagine? He'd thought she'd seriously hook up with him," Olivia said derisively.

Ava chimed in, "Like he'd have a future with her. It wouldn't work, being a mixed race couple. Where would they live – in his shipping crate? As if. She couldn't live in that jail!"

"She said something about houses being built…" Emma said, her voice trailing off.

"So, the point is moot. He's a diversion sure and exciting I suppose, but yuck," Sabine said.

Maybe it was for the best, I thought, trying to concentrate on my Spanish grammar assignment.

"Do you think his parts are even normal?" Emma asked.

Of course he's normal you nit-shit, I thought, closing my eyes for a second. Ignore them. Concentrate.

Taylor walked up to the table, and the girls changed the subject to other boys, specifically the guys who were unattached and who was with whom, not that I cared one bit about that. Still, if Taylor had miscarried, I wonder if Drake knew and if he was all right about it.

I saw Sophia in the corridor on the way to Algebra. "Have you spoken with Taylor?" I asked her.

Sophia looked pained. "I tried, but she brushed me off. I asked her if she was all right, but she only said she was fine," she said and I pitied her; I knew she really liked Taylor, more than simply liked her.

"Do you know if the baby is all right? I'd heard rumor that she'd miscarried," I asked and covered my mouth when she looked downcast and shook her head.

"She told me she'd miscarried," she said so low I had to lean forward to hear her. "She said it's for the best, that it had no future anyway."

I sympathized even though I agreed with the statement somewhat – the fact that Taylor wasn't pregnant was in a way a good thing, but this was a horrible way to have it happen. "Because of the accident, wasn't it?"

Sophia nodded. "She's really upset, but trying to be brave about it," she was saying. "But she's pushing me away."

"She just needs time," I told her. "She's still recovering and breaking things off with Drake – that's a lot to go through." We entered class, and I quickly glanced at Drake. He gave me a questioning lift of his eyebrows, and I smiled sadly at him. But he grit his teeth, making a tick on his cheek as he turned his head, and I could tell he was irritated by my sympathy. Oh, well, he'd be all right. High school romances were not known to be long lived and this one was ill suited from the get-go.

Loraine was quite chatty on the drive to town, telling me that she'd heard that Taylor was breaking it off with Drake. "I heard her telling Shawna White in the bathroom that she was over with Drake."

Not that I hadn't figured it out myself. "I could have told you that," I said, trying to get her to talk about anything else.

"She was saying that any girl was an idiot for hooking up with an Atrian: they don't do relationships, conversations or hospital visits – not exactly one you can count on, etcetera… Can you believe that? Really? That he'd thought she'd move in with him in his pod, called his home a jail," she continued rattling on. "I mean I know she was used to luxury – a big fancy house, loads of spending cash, no real responsibilities except dance committees – but what did she expect hooking up with a Vwasak warrior?"

"I'm sure it was an excitement fling for her, until she got pregnant, but he's off the hook now and can move on," I said. I was glad the pregnancy was terminated, but I really felt sorry for Drake and Taylor: Drake because he was so upset, and Taylor for all she'd had to go through.

"Why he ever threw you over for her in the first place, I'll never understand. You were such a cute couple," she said, looking out the window. "Even Amilee even agrees."

I could've moaned at that pronouncement – Amilee agreed? That meant she was likely to meddle or offer me a tone of advice on my nonexistent love life. Grrrrrreat.

I pulled into the parking lot for The Bug, and waved at Lukas. "So, who's going to be here?" I asked.

"The usual nine," she replied.

"Nine? We're usually only four?" I said, wondering who else was showing up.

"Amilee, Ethan and Quinn wanted to come and Justin is seeing Krista now," she replied.

"That's only eight?" I told her.

"Sophia is nine," Loraine pointed out. "Amilee said that Quinn has a thing for her."

"Since when?" I asked before getting out of the car. Sure enough, I saw Amilee by the door, chatting with Sophia, Julia, Erik and Emery.

"Since working on the float," she replied as we walked to the entrance. "She is adorable."

Adorable, sweet and the sister to the Iksen of the Itrejivil! Second in line as leader of her people! What was he thinking? You didn't just date the sister of the Iksen of the Itrejivil! Not to mention that he's Cæveh! From a good family, sure, well connected with good lineage and loads of money, but – the Itrejivil Hwatab would have to agree, to permit them to date, wouldn't they?

"The guys are getting us a table," Amilee said, grinning, as Loraine and I approached.

We followed Amilee to a large booth Quinn and Ethan had pushed a table next to, extending it to accommodate everyone. Somehow Ethan ended up in the booth between Amilee and me, again, his arm stretched out behind my seat as he picked at the cheesy fries. Quinn had situated himself next to Sophia, and yes, I could tell, he was trying to draw her out, to get to know her. Julia and Erik sat on my other side, and Krista was between Jason and Justin.

Across the room I saw Roman and Drake at a table together, and noticed that Roman was definitely keeping an eye on Sophia. I caught Drake's eye on several occasions, although he didn't turn his head away as he normally did when I had done it before, which made me blush a few times. Not only that but Ethan seemed to notice me blushing, because he'd hug my shoulders or worse, twice he whispered in my ear when I blushed, making my face burn warmer.

To say everyone was in a good mood would be an understatement. Embarrassing stories were told (mostly at mine, Loraine's and Amilee's expense) with the private jokes explained to our human friends, although Sophia offered a few cute childhood memories. I knew why Julia and Emery were quiet on the subject of youthful follies, they'd spent a good deal of their childhood in hospital. But throughout our conversation, Erick kept glancing at me, and he was quiet, unusually quiet.

When I asked to be excused to go to the bathroom, Julia and Erik left the table too. Odd, I thought, until Erick pulled on my elbow, just before I followed Julia in the bathroom door. "You got a minute?" he asked.

"Sure, but can I…? I started to ask as he pulled me toward the back door.

"Okay, I get it, you're not a Trag, and you're not marked, but the others… Are they…?" he asked.

"No, really, we're not Trag," I said, hoping he'd trust me.

"But everyone at the table – they're Atrian like you: unmarked and living as humans," he said.

Damn, but he was perceptive. Erik was smart, more than he gave himself credit for. "I have a lot to confess, I know. Have you ever been on a cruise?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, several times – but I don't see—"

"They have lifeboats," I said, and he confirmed it as if I was wonky. "So did our ship. Right before the crash, many people onboard panicked as they collected their things, tried to find loved ones while trying to get to the drop ships… and well, you get the picture." He said, "Yeah," so I continued, "And those drop ships landed on earth, too – many landing in the bayou and around town…"

"I remember," he said.

"Half of us escaped that way, maybe more. We survived, but we had to hide," I explained, "and when the hunts were over, we conjugated, formed small communities, mostly underground and in places – hiding."

"Okay, I got that," he said. "How did you save Julia's life? The same way you did Grayson's?"

"Not exactly," I said as I shook my head. "Roman had used an Atrian herb to cure Julia but she developed what we call fire or burning, and I gave her an herb to stop the reaction."

"Grayson – he said you injected him with a glowing blue blood – your blood," he said accusingly.

"What I'm going to tell you, you have to keep to yourself," I said firmly and he nodded, saying, "Sure."  
"Ciper only works on Atrians. Because ciper was common on my planet, we have a commensal, symbiotic and pathogenic relationship with the ciper microflora, much like the microorganisms that help the human host: bacteria, fungi, and archaea, although we have those, too." He nodded, and I proceeded, hoping he understood, "When we inject pure ciper sap into our bodies, it activates the ciper already existing within us, promoting a faster healing rate. But ciper won't help humans; you don't have the mutualistic relationship of activated ciper in your DNA – so pure ciper sap becomes harmful. However, there is a way… It's complicated, but I used my activated ciper to cure Grayson, the same way Roman had with Julia."

"So there is a way to cure humans with ciper?" Erik asked.

I cringed. "Imagine if it got out that activated ciper in our blood could work on humans – every Atrian would be in danger of becoming a ciper blood bank for every sick or dying human out there. Eva Benton works at the Daigle Biomed-tech Pharmaceutical Research Institute, and she was willing to bleed Teri dry to get enough Atrian blood for her experiments with ciper. She was already forcing Julia to give her blood for the same purpose – like a human lab rat," I told him, and I could see the anger at my statement in his eyes. "Yes, you see now, don't you? Miss Benton and her partner, Mr. Blake, were willing to pressure – even threaten Julia into giving blood so Miss Benton could find a way to use ciper as a cure for human illnesses. Now imagine if that became general knowledge?"

He was quiet, his gaze lowered toward the floor.

"Do you remember how much you hated Atrians the start of school?" I asked him.

"Yes," he said, and I pressed on, "You were always bating Drake, trying to get him to react to your taunts, and I wondered why. Then I overheard Taylor telling Emery about your dad and how he lost his business."

Erik frowned and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, so what does that have to do with—"

"Your father now works at AtriDel – manufactures of electric car batteries and the conversion parts for electric cars. Kinda came out of the blue, a job for a growing electric car parts company; a far cry from running a diner, don't you think?"

"He's in sales," Erik said defensively.

"He was hired to work in sales, then trained in various aspects of the business and its products and promoted," I said, and Erik, although he looked suspicious, nodded. "AtriDel technology is cutting edge, revolutionary and really reshaping human conceptions and perceptions towards electric vehicles of all types: cars, trucks, heavy-duty trucks and semi tractors, and even boats." I had him, I could tell he was intrigued; the heavy-duty trucks and semi tractors, and even boats were new divisions just being introduced to the manufacturers. "That's Atrian technology, and your father works for my guardian father—"

"Atrians?" he interrupted for me. "You're telling me that my father works for an Atrian company, run by Atrians?"

"Yes. I figured that if you hated us because your family lost so much, that if he had a good job, one that paid well and that your father enjoyed doing, you and your family might not hate us as much," I said with a shoulder shrug.

"Really?" Erik asked in disbelief.

"It seems to have worked," I said.

"Well, I'd like to think I had some influence in that," Julia said.

"One more thing, if you wanted a job there, too," I said with a mischievous smile, "say in the automotive department… I could make that happen as well."

"Why would you?" he asked.

"Isn't that what friends do? Help each other?" I asked, but he shook his head, saying, "Not usually, no."

"Grayson's parents got you that job at the market," I pointed out. "Tell you what, you keep my secrets, about us and about ciper, and I'll make it happen," I promised. "I know you don't particularly like working at the market, and if you do well at Atri-Automotive Service, you could end up with a dealership of your own someday." In fact I'd leave that one to him when we left as a thank you.

"You're kidding me," he stammered. "Why would you do that for me?"

I shrugged. "What wouldn't I do for a friend? Save a friend's life," I said, glancing at Julia, "risking exposing my people to people like Miss Benton and Mr. Burk, or giving another some technology that advanced his career a huge step forward, and for another whose project seemed to have become irrelevant – a computer program that revitalized its importance. Not that the last two didn't also have selfish reasons as well."

"Such as…?" he asked.

"Searching the heavens for another habitable planet that might be an alternative to staying here on Earth," I said casually, but Julia's eyes widened in dismay as if she'd hate to see that happen. "If Atrians are not welcome here, we may have to go, and when we do, there are a few businesses that will be left behind, some scientific advancements and technologies for your scientists to continue to utilize, some Atrian devices, materials and… Well you get the picture. We're not bad people, not all of us at least. We've contributed in a positive way, even though you are among the very few who are aware of it, and for now, I need you to keep it that way."

"But if you—"

"We can't, not now," I said, cutting him off. "For now. Most humans don't trust us, and it could be perceived badly – it could backfire horribly. In time, maybe. But know this, if we go, we'll have means to communicate with you; Lukas will have the technology and the design specs to build it. And you and your family will have a company to run, if you want it."

"Hell yeah," Erik exclaimed.

"All I ask is that you keep quiet as my friend. You already know enough to make my life a nightmare and my people suffer," I said, well pleaded.

Erik held out his hand and I accepted, clasping it. "You've got my silence."

"Thank you," I said. "Now, I think I'll use the…"

"Oh, sure, sorry," he said apolitically.

Walking back to the table afterwards, I had to pass by Drake. He watched me approach. I said, "Hi," to him and he said, "Hi," back, his gaze locked on mine, and I smiled at him, tilting my head, wondering if he was all right. "Having fun?" I asked, and mentally cringed for saying something so lame.

"Not really," he replied.

My brow creased slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that. You could join us if you wanted to," I offered, but I knew he'd decline even before he said, "No, thanks."

"You looked cozy," he said, and I huffed a confused laugh.

"They are just friends, cousins… nothing. You should come, you know almost everyone."

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head.

"Well, if you change your mind, the offer's still good," I said as I walked off. When I rejoined the group at the table, I was glad to see that Erik was much more relaxed with my 'cousins'. I slid in my seat, picking up my Lemonade, and Ethan tilted his head toward mine.

"You okay?" he asked, and I nodded, sipping on my drink through the straw. "What did your Vwasak warrior want?"

"Nothing, I just said hi," I replied.

"Uh huh," he breathed into my hair. "That's why he can't take his eyes off you."

I turned to look, but Drake was walking away from his table. "You're mistaken," I said.

Ethan huffed a laugh and sipped his Orange Crush.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day was pretty much the same. I saw Drake and Taylor talking before school, but Taylor looked very much like she was on the defensive, and as she'd walked away from him, he grit his teeth, making the tick show in his cheek again, then walked the other way.

He avoided looking at her in homeroom.

Drake arrived at our worktable in chem just as Mr. Jacobson begin to explain our experiment, and Drake was so distracted the rest of class that I had to do the experiment for us, since all he wanted to do was twist the test tubes in the Bunsen burner.

As soon as the bell rang, he grabbed his books and hurried from the room.

I dumped the tubes in the trash, feeling sorry for him, but knowing I couldn't help unless he wanted me to.

I headed for my locker, but as I turned the corner I saw Drake and Taylor talking and I heard her say, "You were not there – you didn't even try."

"I didn't know," he said, then lowered his voice. But I heard him say, "I'd have been there if I'd known," as I walked by.

At break, Drake tried to approach Taylor, but she'd held up her hand, shook her head and walked over to her friends and simply kept her distance. He left the cafeteria, and I could tell he was frustrated and hurt.

I saw him trying to talk to Taylor after US History, but she seemed adamant, and I heard her tell him it was over. As Taylor walked away for lunch, Drake punched the locker next to him in frustration, startling a few students. Well, that's what it was, frustration, not aggression, although it could seem frightening, seeing him act so, I suppose.

But I could feel his surge of rage.

I followed him s he walked away, hoping he was all right and that he wouldn't do anything rash. But lost him when I turned the corner. I'd noticed that he'd not eaten anything at break, and he'd missed lunch yesterday as well. He had to eat something.

I inhaled, then exhaled, fighting back the feelings of hurt, anger and frustration – his feelings – knowing that he was close. Down the hall. I finally found him, in the gym, venting out his frustrations and anger with weights. I watched him for a few seconds, admiring his way his muscles flexed with his movements. That's a good way to let off steam, I thought as I very quietly slipped away.

I went to my locker before Spanish class, and as I exchanged workbooks, I saw Sophia approach Drake at his locker, handing him a sandwich and juice box. I was glad to see that I wasn't the only one to notice he hadn't eaten. I checked my phone for messages: Ian texted – the usual message; nothing from Ihmen, that was always a good sign; Me-ma reminded me of two birthdays coming up; and I had two more from Amilee urging me to bring Sophia over. She'd been texting me all day, asking me to invite her. I texted back, 'I'll ask, it's up to her. Did it ever occur to you that Sophia may have her mate chosen for her the way the elders are doing to me?'

"Why did you follow me?" Drake asked, startling me.

I cocked my head in confusion. "When?"

"At lunch – you followed me to the gym. Why?" he asked coolly.

He saw me? How? He'd never even looked in my direction.

"I saw you in the mirror," he stated as if reading my thoughts.

"The mirror?" I asked, feeling dumb.

"The walls of the gym are mirrored," he stated flatly as if I was being dense.

I hadn't realized that. Justin would have laughed at me for my ignorance. "I saw you punch the locker and well, I wanted to know if you were okay," I said, gathering I'd aggravated him by doing so. I only did so because I cared about him, the gruddy blubek. "I knew you were upset and… I wanted to make sure, you were."

"What, upset?" he asked.

"All right," I replied as my phone chimed I'd received a new text. "I wanted to know if you were all right."

"Well, I am," he stated.

"Okay, good," I said with a nod and closed my locker. "See you in Algebra," I said casually and headed off to Spanish. I snuck a peek at Drake as I read Amilee's message (shocked that Sophia would have to make a social/political match, really?) seeing Drake staring after me and I smiled.

Before Algebra, I approached Sophia to see if she wanted to come over to swim. I knew that Quinn would be at the houses, and although I didn't want to meddle, it couldn't hurt. Besides, from the way he'd acted at The Bug, it was apparent that he really liked her. "Sure," she said smiling.

"Great," I said, walking to class with her. Amilee's text read that if Ethan was good enough to be on my list of potentials, Quinn would certainly be good enough politically and socially for Sophia. Ask Roman. Right? Like I'm going to do that at this point. I had no idea if Sophia even liked him. I casually mentioned that Quinn and Ethan would be there, to gauge her reaction, but all she said was, "You're lucky, Ethan is really cute."

"What about Quinn, he's single?" Gads I'm horrible at this. Could I be any more blunt?

"Yeah, he is," she said, but then he was, so I couldn't tell if she was stating the obvious or interested. I'll leave this to Amilee; she's better at this than I am.

"Who is cute?" Drake asked, startling me for the second time that day.

We both turned to look at Drake, and I nervously realized that Roman was right behind us too.

"Her cousin," Sophia stated.

"He's Cæveh actually, but from a really good family, and very smart," I stated so Roman wouldn't think Quinn inappropriate to date his sister.

"Which one, you've _several_ cousins?" Drake asked.

"Quinn," Sophia stated.

I tried not to laugh; she could possibly like him.

"So you're interested in dating a…?" Roman started to ask, then looked at me. "What does he do?"

"Back home he'd be studying law, I suppose," I replied. "Not that he couldn't pass the bar here – or there – today if he wanted to. He has an eidetic memory – grafikzd jesiowy… If he reads something, or better yet, writes it as he's reading, he seems to retain it with amazing recall."

"I didn't know that," Sophia stated.

Gads, I hope she wasn't intimidated by brilliant men.

"I think I should meet this guy," Roman stated.

"How about I decide if you should first. I barely know him," Sophia said and walked off, merging with the others entering the classroom.

"He's a really decent guy," I told Roman. "But she's right, they only just met." I hoped that appeased him as I entered the room and took my seat.

Sophia left class as soon as the bell rang, and I wondered where she ran off to. I looked for her in the hall, but didn't see her, and she wasn't at her locker, so I headed for the parking lot and the SEU bus. Maybe she wanted to talk to Roman again before coming with me to the houses? But she wasn't there either.

I turned to go back in the school, literally colliding into Drake, and he grasped my arm to steady me.

"Sorry. Are you all right?" he asked, taking his hands off my arms as I nodded mutely.

"Who are you looking for?"

I found my voice, "Sophia."

"She went to the gym, something about swimming, I think," he said.

"To get her swimsuit. I invited her over to swim," I said. "Would you like to come?"

He shook his head, and said, "No."

"You should," I said. He could see his mom; that would be a nice surprise for both of them. I saw Sophia coming and she waved to me.

"No, I don't think so," he said, taking a step away from me. "Have a good time." Drake laughed, shaking his head and walked to the bus as Sophia approached me.

"I have my suit," she said.

"Great," I said, watching Drake board the SUE bus, wishing he'd said yes.

I turned to Sophia. "Ready?"

"Yes," she said, laughing at me; not with, me at me.

I mentally shook it off. "Okay, c'mon," I said, leading the way to my car.


	17. Chapter 17

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 16 ("Our Moil Shall Empiricism Find")

It is possible to use solar energy to power your home and office buildings; likewise it's possible to use solar panels to run an electric car. I'm not talking about the panels used on roofs, either. On Atria we've used semi-transparent, colored, clear and opolary zowac (shoot – I don't know the human word, but it's sort of like polarized photochromic on one side - solar on the other) photovoltaic glass for ages; humans discovered how to make it in 2014, well, the semi-transparent colored pv glass, and the Onyx Solar became a thriving international business.

Two years later, one of our people contacted Onyx Solar with the Atrian process and a conceptual idea for car glass that had solar-thermal collection bipv ability in a clear safety glass. Car manufacturers were slow in adopting the idea; petrol driven cars were still the preference back then.

But that same year, AtriDel introduced our Atrian rechargeable power cells (our battery) and a resurgence of electric cars bloomed in 2017 (which we had a huge hand in the technology.) and AtriSolaris, a subsidiary of AtriSolutions, marketed the engine recharging infrastructure modifications our mechanical engineers introduced.

Onyx Solar began producing transitional-shading bipv for all models and makes.

Likewise, our Solaris Solutions, another subsidiary of AtriSolutions, put out the home solar energy storage devices (another type of electric generation and retention infrastructure technology), and for the rural communities, Wiatri Kinetic introduced improved generation and retention infrastructure technology for wind turbines. (Unlike our scientific contributions to the aerospace and medical fields, these companies, although they benefited humans, were not altruistic – we made a lot of money with these companies.)

But in a real sense, these were our gifts to humanity – which they don't even know we contributed to. Yet.

Well, four humans know now: Julia and Emery of course know, they are my friends and keep our secrets – and Erik, because I told him, but so does Lukas, because he'd figured it out.

Since all the businesses in town had their windows blown out from the Suvek blast, (and anything else that was made of glass: ketchup bottles, sugar shakers, glasses, glass mugs, mirrors, etc – you get the picture) most of them were boarded up until the local glass companies (working overtime to get them all done) allowed them to reopen for business. However, teenagers don't care if their favorite hangout had boards on the windows and they were drinking from plastic cups – it was still The Bug. It had taken Lukus' family two days to clean up the broken glass and restock. Then surprise, Tuesday it was business as usual; first opening up a outdoor grill to serve lunch to the workers in town, then on Wednesday, The Bug was full of teenagers as soon as school let out, thanks in part to Lukas' blog that they were able to serve customers again.

I was glad for the Parnells.

But the Eden Café, the clothing boutiques, nail salon and beauty salon were still closed.

Thursday, my cousins (and I still use that term for all my friends living on the third floor of our apartment building) drove to The Bug for food, socialization and because Amilee and Tyson wouldn't let up about going: Amilee because she was incessant about matching up Sophia and Quinn; Tyson because he really liked Lukas (as a friend, get your mind out of the gutter).

As usual, we'd pulled tables together to make the large booth into a larger table. Our little group that included me and my nine 'cousins' (now that Travis and Tyson were including themselves) and our four human friends, had grown yet again into a collective of eleven Atrians with Sophia and Roman joining us – because Roman wanted to keep an eye on his sister and be near Emery.

I had hoped that Drake would join us, and I'd asked him each time we came to The Bug, but he would look at the group at the table and declined, much to my disappointment. I'm not sure who did what to offend him, but if he was uncomfortable with us… (Loraine and Amilee assured me that no one had done or said anything to him), still I persisted in offering. Glutton for rejection, I suppose.

Lukas was sitting between Sophia and Tyson with Jason next to Tyson so they could talk science. Quinn and Erik were on Sophia's other side, Quinn quite attentive to her, naturally. And Ethan still managed to maneuver it so he was between 'his girls', namely me and Amilee, and Krista sat with Justin, now an official couple as far as they were concerned.

It was Tyson who broached the subject. Lukas was saying that his father had finally decided to use the insurance money to replace the windows in The Bug with the photochromic photovoltaic glass from Onyx Solar. But Tyson, who was quite knowledgeable of the Atrian solar technology (a personal interest of his), knew far too much about the innovations at Onyx Solar, and I could tell he was impressing Lukas with that knowledge.

"We used the bipv glass on the pool houses and windows of our houses and on our cars," Tyson stated. "Even with twenty-seven pools, we still primarily use solar energy."

I shook my head. Twenty-three pools and four detached endless workout pools, but I kept quiet and turned my attention to what Emery was saying to Roman.

On my side of the table, Roman and Emery led the discussion on Trags and the Sector.

I saw Drake and Teri at a table to themselves, but when he saw me looking at him, he turned his head. I looked at the half-eaten burger in my basket and sighed as I picked up a fry. I had to face it – there was no hope there, I'd had my chance and blew it. I'd hoped we could at least be friends, not that I wanted to only be friends with him. Ethan hugged my shoulder. "Don't despair, it's not as bad as all that."

I tried to smile at him. "You've Amilee," I said.

"And you have a list of eligible, suitable, young men to choose from who would be honored to be your mate," he said, giving my shoulder another squeeze.

"How silly of me, here I thought you were trying to make me feel better," I chided him. "I hate it."

"But at least you're given choice," he pointed out. "You're great-grandmother was chosen by the Grand Council from a list of one hundred."

"Like winning the lottery," I moaned, referring to the book, _The Lottery_ by Shirley Jackson that I'd read from my English Lit reading list, depicting a town's general inhumanity through a graphic dramatization of a horrifying brutal ancient rite for the sake of tradition and unfounded beliefs.

Across the table, the subject of the Onyx Solar bipv window panels turned to electric cars and AtriDel batteries.

"Wait a minute… Onyx Solar announced their bipv car safety glass in 2016 – the same time that AtriDel made those new car batteries and AtriLuneta was in the news for their…" Lukas said a little loudly, and Erick, who was more or less between us, was regarding both of us closely, probably to gauge my reaction. "AtriDel, AtriErgii, AtriLuneta… You said that there was Atrian technology…" Lukas said to me, thankfully lowering his voice down a little, but loud enough to be overheard. I was across the table from him. "Holy shit."

"Keep it down," Quinn warned Luks. "You're causing a scene."

Emery and Julia were trying to appear nonplused as they casually looked around the dining area, although Roman was intrigued. I hadn't told him the names of our companies; now he knew five of them if you count AtriMotors and Atri-Automotive Service. Erick kept looking from Roman to me and Lukas and back, fitting it all together as well, although outwardly he appeared as if the revelation was of no consequences at all, thankfully.

"Cousins…" Lukas said, softer, but he was still wide eyed. "You're from those houses, the ones that I—"

Sophia put a hand on his arm. "Yes, they are, but like me and Roman, they like humans and want to get along."

"But those technologies, they are Atrian?" Lukas asked, then rattled off a few innovations that had come out in the scientific journals around that time – ideas that seemed truly innovative. I knew he'd read them, collected them in his room and on his data files. He'd figured it out. I was shocked. He even knew about Tri-Tech Biomed, but then we'd just put out our nero-inhibitors and neuro-stimulators the day after we'd purged him of black ciper.

Jason and Quinn did what they could to contain the situation, eventually getting Lukas to lower his voice. "I think next time we should all just go to the pools. No one would care if he cried _eureka_ there," Ethan said.

"Maybe Saturday if you'd like to come," Amilee said to Julia and Emery.

"Sure, who wouldn't want to see Atrian houses," she replied, exuberant about seeing Atrian homes, and nudged Erik's shoulder, who seemed only mildly curious in comparison, asking him if he wanted to go.

"Sure," he replied.

"Oh, you'll be terribly disappointed then," Ethan said to Julia. "They were built using human floor plans and appliances. The Atrian technology is in the walls and under the floorboards."

"On the outside they look like any normal suburban housing tract – but inside they are pretty amazing," Emery said.

"Which house did she see?" Ethan asked me quietly, and I told him, "She was referring to Doug and Marcial's home, which is, in essence, our private medical facilities."

I looked up at Julia and Erik. "Except for the solar and turbine tech, the houses look normal. We did change the floor plans slightly so that the garages open up onto the foyer entry of each house, that's different, I think, and the dining rooms are all on the back of the houses, with attached sunrooms…"

"And every house has a swimming pool," Amilee stated.

"Not every house – about two thirds, there are grass areas too," Krista said, although Amilee continued, "inside huge pool houses that are like huge greenhouses and gazebos – it's pretty – blue lights everywhere."

Amilee turned to me. "You're Iksen; tell the elders we're having a pool party."

"Oh yes, I'll have no problem convincing them," I said, knowing that since it was technically only the four that knew about us anyway, two who've already been at the houses, it'd be no problem.

"I said _tell_, not ask," Amilee said pointedly. "What's the fun of being friends with the High Iksen Atriarch if you can't enjoy certain privileges?"

"Careful, she can order you down to thekluzasy as a slumeik," Ethan warned her jovially, making Roman snicker.

"She wouldn't," Amilee said and tossed a fry at him.

That night Roman asked if I'd dive him to the Sector, so I did. I think I'd heard Quinn offer to drive Drake and Sophia back.

On the way to the Sector, Roman asked me pointedly about the various businesses we had, so I told him about them, in more complete detail, even pulling off the road for a while to answer his questions. "What do you do with the money?" he asked.

"It all goes into the general fund to support those living outside the Sector. Occasionally we hear of charity drives for the Sector so, of course, we pitch in as much as we can. Some of the clothing, furniture, books and things that get donated to you in the Sector are from our resources. I'd do more, but I don't know what you need," I told him.

"Crates," he said with a sigh.

"More crates – don't you have enough pods?" I asked, but he looked away.

"There is overcrowding in some of the sections," he said. "Don't suppose you can help there?"

I shrugged. "I can get crates, I think, sure. But getting the government to agree… Thing is, the Sector is controlled by the government and military, so…" I thought aloud. "Maybe Miss Garcia could campaign for more pods – but they'd call it expansion. Humans might become alarmed if they thought we were increasing in numbers. I could have to talk to the elders and try to come up with something."

"And I will talk to Miss Garcia about the overcrowding," Roman said with a heavy sigh.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Considering that everyone was coming to the houses on Saturday, and I had hinted to Sophia that she and Roman should drag Drake along because I thought it would be good for him to be around everyone, and yes, I wanted him there. However, Amilee had insisted as well, making Roman promise and Sophia snicker as she did, too. But then Amilee whispered to me that seeing me in a swimsuit would turn Drake's head, although why she persisted on the pointless, I had no idea. She was far cuter in a swimsuit than I was.

But considering that Sayora would likely be at the pools since she lived there, I didn't want Drake broadsided by the fact his mom was living at the houses instead of in Eljida. Also, I figured that the reunion would be best in private, not as embarrassing as it could be if it happened at a party in front of everyone.

In addition, I'm sure that Sayora would love to see her son.

Since I hadn't had the opportunity before class, I hurried out of English lit as soon as the bell rang, startling Loraine, going straight to the chem classroom and waited for Drake in the hallway. He arrived very shortly after I did, but then he usually beat me to class. "Drake, do you have a minute?"

He stopped and stared at me, before coming over. "What's up?"

"Meet me after school," I said before I lost my nerve. There. Asked.

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"

"There is something I want to show you," I said, and hoped he'd say yes.

"I can't," he said with a shake of his head, and he turned and walked into class.

That didn't go as I'd hoped. I envisioned it going so much better in my head.

When I entered the classroom, I noticed that Mr. Jacobson had written our experiment for the class on the blackboard: study reactions of copper and write the resulting products formed.

I joined Drake at our worktable and dropped my bag, but Mr. Jacobson summoned everyone over to the center worktable. "Chemical reactions are often accompanied by the formation of a precipitate, the evolution of gas, a change in color and by an exothermic reaction," Mr. Jacobson said. He started off class by demonstrating the reaction of metallic copper with concentrated nitric acid, HNO3. Everyone was naturally suitably impressed as the red-brown nitrogen dioxide gas, NO2(g) was released from the now blue copper(II) nitrate solution, Cu(NO3)2(aq), in his beaker. "Note the heat given off from the reaction," he stated, although he and a few others were the only ones close enough to feel it. "The rest of the experiment is in your workbook," he said, indicating Joan's iTablet.

I saw Durren open his notebook to the page in question. It still irked me that the seven Atrians from the Sector were not allowed iTablets and phones and had to carry textbooks, notebooks, pens and paper. It had to be cumbersome.

"Avoid breathing the poisonous gases, and avoid getting the nitric acid on your skin. It burns skin and clothing," Mr. Jacobson was saying before he dismissed us to our assigned worktables.

I propped up my iTablet on the stand so Drake could see it as well. As Drake set up the fume hood, I collected our materials for the experiment and a rack of thin-stemmed pipettes and test tubes already prepared and labeled for our use.

"Really, you should come," I said, setting everything on the worktable.

"No," he said as I handed him the flask and the first prepared and labeled test tube.

"Why not? Have I offended you?" I asked, hoping that wasn't the case.

But he shook his head, saying, "No, you haven't," as he picked up the next pipette with the prepared solution and released the solution into the test tube.

"Then come," I insisted as he took another thin stem pipette, this one containing sodium hydroxide solution, NaOH(aq) and added it slowly to the test tube, being careful to avoid contact with sodium hydroxide, since it burns skin.

He tapped the tube firmly to mix the solution. "It's hot," he stated.

"In other words, it's exothermic," I stated, writing it down.

He added about 1/3 of a pipette of distilled water and tapped the tube to mix it.

"What about your boyfriend?" he asked as an aqua blue solid formed in the tube.

"What? My boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend," I said, wondering where he'd get that impression.

"There are a few black flecks," he stated, then tapped on my composition book. "The aqua blue solid material is copper(II) hydroxide, Cu(OH)2(s). Write that down."

As I did, he dipped the test tube in the hot water bath and then checked it. "No change. It's copper(II) oxide, CuO(s)," he said, and I jotted that down while he ran cold water over the outside of the test tube to cool it. "We've black precipitate," he stated.

I wrote down the reaction. So far everything was going perfectly, well the chem experiment at least. I watched as Drake used one of the centrifuges to spin the solution.

He returned with the decanted tube and placed it in our rack. "Then who is that tall good-looking guy you're always with?" he asked.

"Who – what? Justin and Jason? They're not tall—"

"No, not your cousins, the tall one," he repeated as he used the pipette labeled 'waste' to remove the clear liquid.

I wrote 'supernatant liquid' removed, leaving the copper(II) oxide solid' in our notes.

"Isn't he the brother of the one you're trying to match up with Sophia," he said as I washed the precipitate by adding about half a pipette of distilled water.

"Quinn likes her, and it's Amilee – wait, you mean Ethan, don't you?" I asked as I added the results to mix in the test tube.

"Yeah, that's his name – be careful," he said, picking up a pipette.

"I'm not – we're not – he used to stick snakes and frogs down my top and in my bed and he put mud in my hair when I was little," I stated as he removed and discarded the liquid.

Drake snickered as he handed me the next pipette.

"It isn't funny!" I exclaimed.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Your turn. Concentrate."

I added the hydrochloric acid, HCl, from the final thin stem pipette to the precipitate, careful to avoid contact of the hydrochloric acid to our skin and clothes. But Drake cautioned me, "Watch it," which was sweet, as I removed the pipette. "So he was a bully, and now you're dating him?" he asked as I tapped the solution to mix it. A clear, mint green solution formed.

"He wasn't a bully, well, not really," I tried to defend him as I tried to write, 'The clear, mint green solution is copper(II) chloride solution, CuCl2(aq)' on my notes.

But Drake shot me an incredulous glance.

"Well _now_ he is a decent guy, but he's like an older, pain-in-the-ass brother I grew up with – still do sort of. He's in the same apartment building, two doors down from my unit," I explained as Drake took the precut piece of aluminum wire, carefully bending it like a fishhook and placed it over the top of the test tube.

"You're neighbors? That's convenient," he said as he used to tube holder to run cold water over the outside of the test tube. The reaction was immediate: a grey 'foam' appeared above the pink-tan solid. "Hot – very hot exothermic reaction.'

"Hydrogen gas, H2(g), with an aluminum chloride solution, AlCl3(aq), and metallic copper, Cu(s)," I read off the tablet as Drake removed and discarded the liquid. "He's dating Amilee; actually he considers them engaged, although she wants to wait until she's 18 to be formally announced – he doesn't want to wait. Their families approve, and I've given my consent and approval – a Tgorasad thing," I stated, watching him wash the solid with half a pipette of distilled water.

"You still practice guhnatik? As in gengiefu szenie?" he asked, surprised, as he discarded the liquid.

"Yes, arranged marital union is still practiced in the Tgorasad – the position of the Tgorasad was created by it; it's tradition," I said as he used tweezers to remove the leftover pieces of aluminum wire and examined the final product. "It's not szovani, I have a choice," unlike the first union whose first living child became the first Iken of the Tgorasad.

"Of the right political, social and economic standing," he said, sounding somewhat touchy about it, as I observed the final product.

"Product looks like wet compact powder, no luster," I stated, wondering why he'd be so critical. Who I chose was of great significance to my people – it always has been.

"Yeah, I know," he said.

We took the filter paper with our product to the fume hood. Mr. Jacobson made a test with a small sample of our product mixing it with concentrated nitric acid. A red-brown gas with a blue solution appeared, as expected, and it produced the expected heat. "Excellent, full marks. Good job you two," he said and made a notation on his clipboard.

We returned to our worktable. "And you're okay with that?" Drake asked me as he cleaned the pipettes and I cleaned the test tube and funnel.

"It's not that bad," I said, "I know that my feelings on the match will be considered." I knew several of the young men on the lists; they lived in the apartment or houses. But two thirds had not been on the ARDhet – they'd been on the other search vessels. Finding a new home world was taking longer than our General Council had anticipated, so technically I could wait until we were all on the same planet – wherever that would be.

We washed our hands carefully gathered our things.

"Besides, you're of proper standing, aren't you?" I asked him as we exited the classroom. He gave me a questioning stare for a second so I drew him aside. "You're the best friend of the Itrejivil Iksen; your family must have good social political standing," I said softly so we'd not be overheard, but he huffed a laugh.

"We grew up together – it's not the same thing," he said. "Roman's parents looked after me after my mom was put in the crates."

"But your mother is a hero," I said, and he made a snort-like huff. "Her actions saved thousands of lives including the Hwatab of both of our countries! You have to know that?"

He shot me a disbelieving glance.

"She did! Yes, our ship nose-dived into the planetary troposphere – but think, it could have been so much worse. A ship the size of the ARDhet, in a crash entry from space – we could have been scattered debris across two states, killing hundreds of thousands of people – and she did it by herself!"

"You can't know that," he said, cocking his head slightly as he regarded me.

"You'd lose that bet – I know. I've seen the evidence," I told him. How could he doubt his own mother? Did he believe the lies and rumors Castor spread about her to cover his own treason? "Drake…"

"It's irreverent anyway," he said, but I sensed that he was pleased I thought so highly of his mom. I let it drop.

"Regardless, meet me after school?" I asked him again. I still wanted him to have time with his mom.

"I'll think about it," he said.

"That's not a no!" I said.

"It's not a yes," he said.

"You can have dinner with us, and I'll get you back to the Sector in time, I promise. You like to swim, don't you?" I asked, ignoring his almost refusal. "We'll bar-b-que, and you can see the pools."

"You don't take no for an answer, do you?" he asked, still regarding me with an odd look.

"Not when I really want something," I replied, grinning cheekily.

"I'll think about it," he repeated as he walked away.

I sighed heavily.

Drake was in Biology when I arrived. Taylor was still keeping her back to Drake, although he was watching me while he listened to Teri as I walked to my seat. "You look happy," Emery said as she sat next to me.

"I am," I replied. "Are you coming over Saturday?"

"Wouldn't miss it," she said.

"May I ask you something?" I asked, and she nodded, saying, "Sure."

"What is normal for a pool party?" I felt dumb asking, but as I've never been to one, for obvious reasons, nor had one – not really, the only examples I knew about were from TV and Movies.

"Food, drinks, music – lots of food and drinks," she answered cryptically, setting up her iTablet for lecture. I must have looked utterly befuddled because she added, "If you want, we can discuss it over lunch."

"Can we?" I asked, relieved. "Then I can get Julia's input, too."

Emery laughed softly. "I'm sure she'd love to help."

At lunch Loraine, Sophia, Emery, Julia and I circled a table, discussing what a normal pool party should be. I called Amilee on the phone so she'd in on what was discussed. "Music," Amilee said. "We can use Ethan's player, and I'll have him hook up speakers."

"Lukas has an amazing play list," Emery stated.

"Or if you'd like, we can play Atrian music," I suggested quietly. "You've never heard our music, and we could."

"That would be awesome!" Julia exclaimed, garnering a glance from Roman and Drake at the next table. Even Durren looked up, although Corben, Teri and Lynne ignored us. I wondered about inviting them, but Lynne, Corben and Durren were not making any friendly overtures toward us, keeping strictly to themselves, and Teri seemed to despise me for some reason. I borrowed Loraine's phone to send Ethan a text, asking if he'd mind.

"Settled then," Loraine said, and Amilee agreed, adding, "I'll tell everyone," and hung up.

"Who's everyone?" Roman asked as I put away my phone.

I looked up, seeing Drake and Roman standing by the table. "All our friends," Loraine said, "You two included."

Drake shot me a questioning glance as Roman sat down between Sophia and Emery. Loraine scooted over, giving Drake a place next to her, right across from me. "You are coming, aren't you?" she asked Drake.

He looked at me as he said, "Yeah, I'll go," resignedly, and Loraine shot me a huge smile.

Great, we've twisted his arm. I hope he has fun regardless.

Okay, so lunch didn't end up being uncomfortable, Drake lightened up the moment Julia asked him about Atrian music and what kind of music he liked.

But in Algebra, Drake kept looking at me again. I concentrated on the equations, wishing for all the world that humans knew how to explain mathematics. The equations were not hard – math is numbers and equations have an answer. But Mr. Webster liked to complicate things, probably to make his life more interesting. He called on Drake, who casually gave the right answer.

Mr. Webster called on me next.

I glanced at number twelve. "The limit is zero since the degree of the denominator is larger than the degree of the numerator," I said, going back to work out the last equation.

"Nice to know you're paying attention, Miss Stone," Mr. Webster said and picked on someone else.

I saw Drake smirk behind the fist holding his pen to his lip. Okay, but I knew that we were both getting 'A' in this class. I finished the equation and sent my answers to Mr. Webster's email, then started on the homework assignment.

When the bell rang, Drake handed in his paper. "I expect to see _all _the work, Drake, not just a few steps," Mr. Webster stated.

"I do most of it in my head," Drake said with a bored tone. I'd heard him explain it to our teacher before, but for some reason Mr. Webster never believed Drake, even though Drake aced most all his tests and quizzes.

"But I expect to see the work," Mr. Webster said as I hurried by before he admonished me for my shortcuts.

Drake caught up to me outside. "Hey."

I turned. "I have to go to my locker first, and then we'll go," I said exuberantly and hurried off before he could say no.

Only he appeared next to me at my locker. "Where are we going?"

"To the houses," I replied. There. Now it's not a secret. Sort of.

"So not a date, but I'm going to meet every member of your… family?" he asked as I closed my locker.

I laughed softly. "C'mon," I said, leading the way.

He was quiet all the way to the car, only asking why we were going again as we pulled onto the hwy.

"There is someone there that I know you'd like to see," I said. "I know she'd love to see you."

"Who?" he asked, and I could tell he was intrigued.

"Someone you've not seen for a while, and who would be overjoyed to spend some time with you," I said cryptically. "You don't even have to get in the pools if you don't want to. Besides, what are you afraid of?"

"Nothing. I just don't like surprises," he said looking out the window. After a while he turned to face me. "All right, tell me who _she_ is."

"It's a surprise, but one you'll like, I promise," I said.

"I hate surprises," he said.

"You'll like this one," I said.

"I doubt it," he said.

I turned on the street leading to cul-de-sacs, and made a left on Briarhill Road. Drake stared out the window as I passed Elmwood Lane. I saw to warriors out for 'a jog,' the hoods of their zip-up hoodies and white towel covering most of their necks and faces. One of them spoke into a communication devise as we drove by.

I turned on Oak Knoll Drive.

"Are these the houses?" Drake asked. "They look ordinary."

"Yes," I replied. But I was surprised to see Stryker and Webb, two Vwasak living at the houses, out front and wearing T-shirts, pretending to do gardening instead of Rudsen and his boys. I guess I forgot to tell them I'd be bringing Drake.

Even before I pulled onto Meheka's drive, the garage door opened. "They are expecting you," Drake said, watching Stryker and Webb as I parked the car.

"We were announced," I said, cutting the engine. I saw Stryker and Webb approach in the review mirror.

"They have their markings," he stated.

Yes, their arm markings were showing. "They only bleached the ones on their faces and necks, but kept all the others. If they wear suits and ties, no one can tell they are Atrian. Those two are Vwasak," I said, and he turned. "Your tribe. But for every warrior you see on the lawn, there are a dozen more you don't see, and they all carry guns with silencers."

He didn't ask, but I could feel the question nonetheless. "Protection for the families that live here. No one gets near the houses unseen, and the point guard would have notified the guard-ners who would have passed the word to the doorkeepers. If you were an unknown, you'd have been encouraged to turn around and leave by the point guards and guardners – if you were considered a threat, you'd have been dispensed Ukænos are protected the same way." If he was shocked by my statement, he didn't show it. "I know, extreme—"

"No, it's prudent," he replied, as any true warrior would see it that way.

"C'mon," I said, getting out of the car.

"Garage is empty," he pointed out. "Don't they own cars, as well?"

"Yeah, we have cars, vans, trucks, even motorcycles. This is Meheka's house, my Dævas Iksen and the matriarch of the houses in a way. She is wysedia of the Hwatab when I'm in school or unavailable," I told him. I led him through the door into the entry. Meheka and Ihmen were waiting for us, and they greeted Drake formally. Rather off putting, judging by his reaction – I'm not sure if he had been taught the formalities, although his formal Sodiv was flawless. The next introductions, all twenty-something of them, were less formal, but he was still introduced as Roman's Ochrokaje (Iksen guard) and his best friend, and son of Sayora, _the_ pilot of the ARDhet. Actually, everyone assumed that Drake was Roman's Avizitan of his Ochrikujen – the captain of his guard. Funny, but Drake didn't refute it and if he was surprised of the reverence of his mother, he didn't show that either.

I led Drake through the house and out into the sunroom. The inhabitants of the houses were gathered in small groups, or lounging on the pool chairs watching the kids splashing in the pool, the little ones in the shallow one to the right of the sunroom. I saw Sayora hurrying toward us, and I raised my hand to make Drake look in her direction. "Surprise."

He looked, but then turned an accusing glare at me. "Why is she here? She was supposed to go to Eljida so she could be free."

"Eljida isn't freedom; it's an enclosure, submerged deep in the bayou so the humans can't find it. It's small, overcrowded and cramped, and I thought she'd be happier here," I told him as Sayora approached.

"Avisiu, alyakson," she said and hugged him.

I backed away, giving them privacy and walked toward the pools. I greeted some of the adults, some of them sharing their concerns with me or asking for news – occasionally getting news from them. It was what was nice about the houses, there was a communal feeling of family, regardless of tribe, and even though many of the adults spoke to me formally. I saw that Drake and Sayora were sitting at small table, talking, and I smiled, turning my head when I was spoken to. I glanced back at mother and son, catching Drake's eye.

I felt a small hand on my leg, and picked up a toddler, Bryen, before he became fussy as I talked to Deon Quarry, a Zæsak elder and his fiancé, Kedra about their upcoming union. "Of course I'll come," I told them, balancing Bryen on my hip. "I'm happy for you and naturally I give my consent and hope your union is blessed."

I heard the long drawn out cry of my name, "Mahureeeen," and turned, seeing Pumpkin come running toward me. "You're heerrree!"

"We'll talk later," I told Kedra. "Yes, I'm here," I told the five-year-old tot.

"But they said you'd be here tomorrow," Pumpkin said.

"I'll be here tomorrow, too," I told her, seeing Drake watching us.

"Come swimming," Pumpkin said – well, demanded.

"Let me change first," I said as I carried Bryen with me into the house, followed by a bouncing Pumpkin telling me all about what was new in her life since I'd seen her only a week ago. I changed into a bright aqua swimsuit as Pumpkin sat on my bed, waiting impatiently. On the way out, I asked Ghenna to find a suit for Drake as she handed me a huge bright turquoise towel. (See the consistency here – everything at the pools was bright light blue, aqua, turquoise – to match our natural fluorescence when wet – camouflage.)

"Already ahead of you," she replied with a grin. "He's changing. Have a nice swim – and Pumpkin, don't monopolize our Iksen."

"Ghennnnna," Pumpkin whined as I walked out, "she's never here."

I was waylaid by Patrik and Ian, who quickly went over some business matters, simple stuff, just an update. "I have the final census you wanted," Ian said, "I'll send it to you in an email."

I thanked him, and headed for the pool. I saw Drake siting with Sayora, a large aqua towel beside him, and smiled as Pumpkin grasped my hand, pulling me to the toddler's pool. The wading pool is only 1 foot to 2 feet deep, with a water shoot to the next pool that, the kiddie pool was at most 5 foot in the center; that one had a shoot that led to a deeper one for adults. Atrian babies don't drown – they are natural swimmers. But as they grow up, toddlers become used to nose-breathing, so by the age of four, small children have to be taught to hold their breath and let their skin breathe for them underwater, hence the toddler's pool and the kiddie pool, which had tons of floaties, noodles and beach balls.

The minute I got in the water and stretched out to float, I was tackled and hit with a beach ball when I up righted. So much for dignity. I tussled with the kids for a while before making my escape down the water shoot, Pumpkin right along after me. She swam up so I could hold her as Drake emerged beside me. "Oh, hello," I said. "Having a nice time with your mom?"

"Not bad," he said as he deflected a beach ball. Two more were tossed at him, and he dodged one, deflecting the other. "Is it always like this?"

"Lots of families – lots of kids," I replied casually. "This is right next to the kid's pool, so they come in here as well." I squatted down as Pumpkin put her feet on my thighs and I stood up quickly, tossing her. Naturally there was many cries of "me next." I tossed one kid after another for a while, Drake competing for who could toss one farther, until I'd had enough. "Follow me," I said and slid down the shoot, then dove for the tunnel, taking it to the next pool and swimming across and through the next tunnel, ending up in a quiet pool.

"Interesting," Drake said when he surfaced.

He was glowing, the markings on his neck, collarbone, shoulders and on his side were so bright and blue. I'd heard from Gerand the richer the blue – the healthier we were; too light and you needed minerals, too dark and you were dehydrated. "Not bad yourself," he said and I turned my head, feeling my cheeks burn.

"Sorry, I didn't mean – I shouldn't stare," I stammered, floating away from him a bit. He floated toward me, and I sank underwater. He did too, keeping close so that I inadvertently bumped my leg into him. I loved the way his markings fluoresced, bold and bright, illuminating him. I knew that mine outlined the sides of my face along my hairline, down the sides of my neck, then on my left, my marks went over my collarbone to the side of my breast, and my on right, they went down shoulder blade and down my back. But my pattern was spotty and linear like a wild cat. Sayora's pattern went down her front and back the same way, sort of, but hers were lovely, lacy.

I didn't know why he was staring at me; I couldn't get a clear sense from him. Heaven only knew what he was thinking with my hair floating everywhere. I turned and swam, for the end, and he caught up to me easily. I made a swimmer's turn, floating away from him backwards, my hair covering my face wildly. Drake pulled on my wrist, pulling me to him and up to the surface. "You're like a water nymph, you know that?" he asked, and suddenly, we were splashed from two sides.

We turned, seeing my Justin and Jason surface near me. "Here you are," Justin said, splashing me again.

"I told you _dive_ – not body bomb," Loraine said, coming closer. "Sorry about the idiots. Meheka wanted to know if you're staying for dinner."

I said, "Yes", Drake said "No."

"Okay, so dork here can drive you home, and you and I will—" she was saying as I turned to Drake.

"Stay," I said, cutting off Loraine. "I asked Patrik to have the men grill something."

"All right, since you're driving," he replied. We swam another lap, then back, and I sank as the guys, Jason and Justin, raced for the other side. I turned, slipping into the next tunnel, not at all surprised that Drake slipped up next to me and into the next pool. I led him through three more, always stopping to wave at the inhabitants if they were on the decks.

"How many of these are there," Drake asked as we surfaced again.

"Twenty three, not counting the caves," I stated. "Most are connected with tunnels except for the kiddie pools – they have slides so the parents know when they swim onward."

"Caves?" he asked.

"C'mon, I'll show you one," I said and led the way back, turning at a tight bend. We surfaced in the wade and walked up the steep steps. The caves held the cave plants from home, and the grow lighting made our marks seem lavender tinted. This one wasn't a deep pool, it was for agriculture, and the water produced a humidity close to that back home. He looked around in awe, walking through the tables. "I'd heard of the Sævad cave plants, I never thought I'd see them," he said.

I showed him the plants, naming the ones I knew and their uses. I stopped by a table holding blue _runet__tica_, a pretty, creeping rhizome with tiny fan-shaped, six-lobed flowers half the year. "My favorite," I said softly.

"It's pretty," he said softly. He was standing so close I could feel his body heat, and I held my breath, my heart thumping wildly. No matter what had happened between us, I was still attracted to him: he was so gorgeous and strong and masculine, and… and I was mentally and physically attuned to him and his presence.

"There you are," Skara, one of the young Vwasak women in the nearby house, said. "I told Justin you'd be here. He was about to call the scouts."

"Really," I said, turning, glaring at my Justin and Jujiden standing in the aisle. "And exactly how far could I go in the pools?"

"Florida," Jujiden said. "Or Mexico, but the saltwater swim would drain you dry. I'm Jujiden of the eastern Vwasak," he introduced himself as he approached Drake. "Stryker, Webb," he said, indicating the two by the wade steps, "and I wanted to meet the Avizitan of our Iksen's Ochrikujen and son of Sayora." They clasped arms in greeting. "You are staying for dinner?"

"Apparently," Drake said.

"Good, we can talk," Jujiden said.

Okay, yes, they would want to meet a member of their tribe, but why now and why here? I walked out with Justin, and dove into the wade and straight into the tunnel, swimming as fast as I could to vent out my frustration.

Notes:

The experiment I used came from the internet: .

I'm not a chemistry buff nor took it in high school.


	18. Chapter 18

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 17 ("What Little Thing Means So Much")

I climbed out of the adult pool and walked to Meheka's house trying to force my emotions under control. I saw Ian, talking to two elders as I entered the sunroom standing by the arches to the dining room. One of the elders walked toward me, possibly to intercept or to talk to me, but I was in no mood and simply shook him off with a raised hand, heading for the house. Ian moved toward me, and I turned on him. "No," I said softly but firmly. "That was utterly uncalled for."

He crossed his arms. "You're safety—"

"Do you honestly think that Drake would harm me? Really?" I asked flatly, head high, shoulders back, my voice soft so as not to carry far, but firm. "He is a friend, and the best friend of Roman, _the_ Itrejivil Iksen. He has been proctor of the seven Itrejivil attending Marshall High from their first day there, and has twice now saved my life as well twice saved – well everyone, Atrian and human alike. I was not in danger."

"You should've had a chaperone," Ian said smoothly, abet a little defensively.

"You sent four warriors and a scout," I said, carefully controlling my anger. "Here, in the pools, I'm never alone – heck, I'm never alone period. But to send your warriors after us as if Drake posed a personal threat to my safety – _five fighters_ – that is unacceptable." He opened his mouth to respond, but I held up my hand. I didn't want his explanation, he was out of line. "If anything Drake has proven to be a protector of my wellbeing – twice! If he were a resident, I'd have him on my personal guard." Well, that was a lie, sort of. My feelings for Drake would and could compromise things. But if he wanted warrior training, I'd grant it to him. Anything he wanted. "He's Roman's Strazhic Ochrokaje, maybe even his Avizitan Ochrokaje," although whether Roman officially made Drake captain of his guard, I don't know – I believe he has… "But if, Drake is here, especially in the capacity as my guest, he is to be shown the proper respect. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Iksen," Ian replied.

"And I don't need protection from him here or anywhere, is that understood?" I added.

Ian nodded. "Yes, understood."

"Thank you," I replied and walked into the house heading for a quiet room to compose myself. I had to get my head straight. I've never upbraided any of my Iksens before – I've never had to. I crossed the dining room quickly before anyone else intercepted me. I'd invited Drake here as my guest! No, that wasn't at all what I did, not really. I wanted him here, sure, but so he and his mom could have some time together, sort of. Oh who was I kidding? Not only did I entice Drake into coming today, I – I… What happened back there?

I entered the sitting room and stood at the bay window. I recalled how Drake's markings looked brightly fluoresced and his ease in the water. His actions in the pool hadn't been untoward: curious, playful, but not… I couldn't shake the image of him, his skin slightly blue from the illumination of his markings. He'd called me a water nymph, but I had to have looked a fright with my hair spanned out everywhere. I normally braid my hair when I swim, but I hadn't today.

From here I could see a wide view of the park: the neighboring pool houses and gazebos that covered the various pools (all of them connected together with tunnels) interspaced with the few grassy gardens… and the sunrooms attached to the back of each house. The community. Like any cul-de-sac, the layout of the houses were all pretty much alike. A few like Meheka's or Doug and Marciels' homes were larger due to the necessity of the 'occupational needs.'

I turned my head to the right, looking into the large, open glass windows of Meheka's sunroom, the gazebo that covered toddler's pool.

I closed my eyes, breathing in deep and slow. I could still feel Drake as if he were standing in the room behind me; actually he was to my right, in the sunroom. This time his presence reassuring, unlike overwhelming feeling I'd had in the cave. I could sense Drake's emotions, as usual, were in conflict: frustrated about something, defensive, but he was resolute – as if he were thinking about something, contemplated something that frustrated him. I wondered briefly if Ian's actions annoyed him as much as it did me.

I opened my eyes and saw Drake and his mom sitting on lounge chairs by the window, facing each other, both with their forearms on their thighs, Drake with his hands clasped, talking. He nodded, not looking directly at his mom, but not exactly away from her. His head turned, and he saw me watching him. I blushed, lowering my head slightly, still watching him, and one side of his mouth quirked into a smile.

Sayora turned to see what he was looking at, then snapped her fingers at him, and Drake turned his focus on his mom. Great, even she didn't want us together. Why I had no idea. I mean, what's wrong with me?

"Mahureen," I heard Meheka say from the doorway.

"Yes, honored mother," I replied, silently sighing before I turned.

"You're troubled," she replied. "Ian told me—"

"Ian was out of line," I said but without the frustration I'd felt earlier. "I know he was concerned for my safety and reputation, but five of his men? One would have been sufficient; he could have simply sent Justin."

"He didn't send Justin; but Justin does take his supervision seriously," she said kindly.

That meant that Ian had sent four warriors against Drake – _four_ – to stop any advancement on my person. As if Drake would do anything to me. I knew that had I said no, told him to back up, he would have, no question. I knew he had integrity.

"But you're right, one would have been sufficient," Meheka was saying. "I know that Drake will not harm you, but your reputation…" she paused, "and there are some who are concerned about your relationship with him."

"Because he's Vwasak," I said with a sigh, and she nodded slowly. "Jadex spoke of unity, peace after a millennia of conflict between the Cæveh and Vwasak, and the strengthening of an alliance between our nations. He suggested a united Hwatab to meet every syęzyon or third new smieziac," our word for season and for moon in Sondiv, "with the Iksen of the Tgorasad and the Iksen of the Irejivil as wysedia and wysedayan. The reason we're on this venture together is because of the treaty of Jadex II. How can that happen if we continue to distrust each other?"

"You know we all want and support the treaty of Jadex II. That's not what concerns us," she replied. "Is there something between you and Drake? Something I should know about?"

I exhaled heavily. "There was." I looked at her. "Meheka, I… there is something I want to know, but I'm not sure…" how to ask.

She indicated we sit, and I took the chair next to hers and turned to face her, leaning on the armrest. "I seem to have this… connection I suppose you'd call it, with Drake. When I'm with him I feel things I don't have with any of the other men. It's not – I'm not talking about love, it's an… awareness. Yes, I feel a physical awareness when we're in the same room or he's standing close to me, but that's not what I'm talking about. When we're apart, I can _feel_ him, literally. I sense his emotions and… Even at a distance I can feel him, sense what he's feeling. Like a connection. Have you ever heard about something like this?"

She was quiet for a moment, then started asking me simple questions to make me describe the feelings, or extent of them. "How long has this been going on?"

I tried to remember. "Ever… since we started to be friends." But that wasn't right, I thought as I shook my head. "No…" Ever since we had sex, but I was not going to admit that! "I started to notice it more acutely after Dinaskyu, after we got to know each other better."

"After the incident at the lake, possibly? Would you say that is about the time you began to feel connected to him?" she asked.

"I suppose…" I nodded slowly. That happened before Dinaskyu. "Somewhat, but I started to realize it after we broke up – and it's grown stronger since."

Meheka didn't react to the comment of a break up. "Yes, I've heard of this, it's very rare," she admitted. "It's a nolenkthetik – spolzuthetik ability," she said, calling it an empathetic-sympathetic ability, "It's not exactly sahykik – but a connection, as you put it. It's thought to be caused by activated ciper transfer, but so few cases have been reported that it's only a theory. I believe that it happened because Drake used his ciper-infused blood to save your life – too much of it actually – and we didn't notice to give you vire until it had spread so fully."

I cocked my head, not remembering that part, and she quickly added, "You burned so quickly – almost as if you were being purged. Loraine called us in the middle of the night – you were completely blue."

I hadn't known that. Now I knew why Julia didn't remember me giving her the vire infused water.

"I believe that it left an imprint in you."

"Too much?" I asked. "I remember that he used my 60cc syringe," I said, recalling that I had two bruises on my arm the next morning. "It was over half full, maybe 40 to 45cc, I think."

"The second one was full, or so he said. Your primary heart stopped, and your secondary was slowing down, so he used as much as he could; that's what he told Meride. The level in your blood after he saved you at the lake was high, even after we calmed down the ciper fire," she was saying. "We estimate that he used about 100 to 120cc of activated ciper to save you at the lake."

"That's why Me-ma was so concerned," I recalled.

"Ciper is saikevtrupik," she said.

"It crosses the blood-brain barrier," I repeated, but in English. "So his activated ciper got into my brain?"

"Something like that – I'm speculating. But I don't think it's harmful," she said. "Unless it becomes a problem, I'd be quiet about this."

I shook my head. No, I trusted Meheka, but I didn't want others to know.

"So, is this why you feel drawn to him romantically?"

I bit my lip as I thought back. Was it? "No, I – I was attracted to him before the lake incident, almost from the first we met. He's smart and cute and, you know, but I had sort of… okay, a crush of sorts. We were kind of becoming involved. I spent time with him the first time I went to the Sector, and at the carnival, but we definitely became closer after," I said, well confessed.

"How much closer?" she asked. "He invited you to Dinaskyu."

I shook my head, smiling slightly as I huffed a laugh. "Miss Garcia wanted each of the seven to invite a human guest. Of the humans he knew, I suppose he liked me best. Little did he know at the time."

She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

"He didn't know I was Atrian at the time; he thought I was human."

She nodded in understanding. "So, it wasn't to meet his family."

"No," I said as I shook my head. "We were… close, but we had a falling out at Dinaskyu, and he… well, we ended things. Then he hooked up with another girl for a little while." I looked at my hands. It was over between him and Taylor. "But I can't shake these feelings, and I…" I looked at her. "I really like him."

"And you wish he'd choose you?" she asked.

"I can't see that happening," I said and sat up straighter. "I should go back. I'm sure I seem petulant to everyone."

"We sometimes forget you are a young lady now and of age to choose if you were ready," she said, but I could tell there was more implied. She smiled at me as we stood up. "We shall respect your friendship with Drake," she said and left the room.

I went to my room upstairs, the one always reserved for me when I stay here, and put on a V-neck cardigan sweater over a tank and leggings and slipped on my boots. I combed out my hair, thinking I should wet it and blow-dry it out when Loraine entered the room. "I'm sorry about – you know," she apologized. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied, tugging at a snarl.

"No you're not," she said as she walked up to me. "Here, let me," she said and took my hair brush. "Everyone was a bit surprised. The elders are all talking about you and Drake – some are convinced you've chosen him – or are going to; others think you're too practical to."

I felt her divide a strand of my hair to braid it. "It was a last minute decision. But I probably should've warned the guards of my intent; I just wanted Drake and Sayora to have some time together, that's all," I said, knowing full well that was only part of it. "I should've followed protocols, but I thought I'd lose the element of surprise."

"Instead of having him find out in front of everyone tomorrow," she said, and I nodded slightly. "I know you, and yes, it's better this way, but… Oh you should have heard Sayora." I looked up at her, as she chuffed a laugh, her fingers still working my hair. "I was able to overhear most of it. She was shocked at his behavior. Told him that you were not someone to, how'd she put it, cavort with – have a casual fling… I mean you're the Atriarch Iksen of the Tgorasad and the future leader of the new world, and like she said, history is going to record every action – every decision you make."

I knew _that_ was true. I remembered how contemplative and solemn Drake had looked when I saw him from the bay window downstairs, and how serious Sayora had looked. I sighed; Sayora and Loraine were right. I realized what I had to do: I would give mother and son space so they could visit; I would go down and talk to Ihmen about where we stood on our search and to talk to Patrik and Deon about getting more crates for the Sector.

"There, all done," Loraine said as she handed me a hand mirror so I could see the waterfall braid she'd done.

"You amaze me," I said, and she said I was welcome. "I need you to do me a favor," I said as we left the room, and pressed on knowing she'd say okay (which she did). "Find Patrik, Ihmen and Deon and tell them I would like to talk to them in the dining room."

"Sure," she replied and hurried down the stairs. I approached Ghenna in the kitchen and asked her if the tables could be set up in the sunroom for dinner, saying that we'd need them for tomorrow anyway. "I've some business to discuss, and I'd like to use the dining room if that's all right."

"Yes, Iksen," she replied and went to enlist the aid of the young men.

Patrik was waiting for me in the dining room, and Ihmen joined us a moment later. I asked her about the progress on our search, but there really weren't any new developments; however, we reviewed all the data anyway. I told Patrik and Deon what Roman had said about overcrowding in the Sector. "I know we've been collecting crates in several locations anyway, for our eventual relocation – either by evacuation of the planet or if we need to go into the Sector, but if we can relieve some of the strain on the residents, it might quiet down the unrest among Roman's people," I said as Ian joined us at the table. "It would also show our support in a positive way, and show his people that he can be an effective Iksen."

"Or expose us," Ian stated as Patrik looked up prices of shipping crates on the internet.

"How many are you thinking?" Patrik asked.

"400 or so, would be a good start, more if we can. I know that when we move we'll need crates for every family, plus we'll have to work out how many of our single people can share pods, much like we already share living units." Ideally, I like to have enough crates for everyone, excluding those in Eljida, Negea and Ukænos. "If we do an exodus like we plan, we will lift Eljida, Negea and Ukænos intact. However, I'd like to be able to move some of the families from those compounds into the Sector, and they will need crates as well."

"If we have each of our companies donate used crates, it should not draw too much attention," Deon suggested.

"We've amassed about 890 so far and should be able to acquire more," Patrik stated. "How soon do you want them?"

"Soon, the sooner the better," I said. By the time we finished our meeting, people were already eating dinner in the sunroom, some of them having finished already. Patrik, Ihmen and I sat at one of the tables and Ghenna served us. From where I was seated, I could see Drake surrounded by Sayora, Jujden, Talgar and his wife, Brahe. Every now and then I caught Drake's eye, but I stayed with my elders and listened to their conversations.

As the evening progressed, several of the Vwasak joined Drake and Sayora; I knew what they were doing, carefully maneuvering him so that we were kept apart, and I could tell that it frustrated him, but I did see him laugh on occasion, so it wasn't all that bad.

At the end of the evening, I approached Drake to drive him home, rebuffing the other offers, but Loraine and Jason jumped into the back seat of my car as we left. When I parked the car in the SEU parking lot, Drake thanked me for having him over, said good night to my cousins and got out. "Wait here," I told them as I got out and walked over to Drake, calling out for him to wait.

"Did I do something to offend you?" he asked me when I approached him.

"No, of course not," I replied, realizing that my actions would have made it seem so. "I just wanted you to have time with your mom. I'm glad you came today."

He looked away, his eyes stormy, but his face expressionless.

"Please, I still want you to come tomorrow. All my friends will be there, but you already know most of them."

He was silent for a bit, and I knew he was considering it. "Okay, what time?" he asked, and I felt so relieved.

"I can pick you up at noon here or if you want, you, Sophia and Roman can come to the apartment and we can go from there," I suggested.

"Okay, we'll be out here at noon," he said and walked off.

~~~~~o~~~~~ 

Quinn ended being the one to go get Sophia, Roman and Drake at the Sector, because Amilee insisted.

Jason went to Lukas' house to pick up our human friends, since Amilee insisted that she needed me at the houses to get everything ready.

Not that everyone else weren't already pitching in at Deon's house (next door to Meheka's), where we'd decided to have the party. While Meheka's 'yard' encompassed the pool house that covered the toddler's and half the gazebo-covered kid's pool, Deon's large sunroom opened onto the other half of the kid's pool and the pool house that covered the adjacent adult pool.

Most of the residents were staying inside today, but a few were open to helping, mostly in order to see Roman, Sophia and Drake, even if that meant exposing themselves to the four humans. Since Talgar and Rusden had helped us get rid of the Suvek and the dead Trags at Delanne's old furniture store, they offered to run the grill, and Brahe offered to help Edhin and Odila in the kitchen. Idris had put the volleyball net over the kid's pool since it would be the best one for us to play in, and Daghe helped Ethan set up the sound system.

I'd plaited my hair in a French braid, and opted to wear an icy aqua velveteen zipper jacket and pant suit over my bright aqua bikini, a choice that really pleased Amilee for some odd reason.

As soon as our friends arrived, the guys were all handed white or grey swim trunks with a bright aqua and turquoise patterns and told where to go change, as I pulled Emery, Sophia and Julia up to my room to change into their choice of bright turquoise or bright aqua swimsuits or bikinis, explaining the reason of the necessity of the color.

Once we were all outside, Erik commented, "You really like the color blue, don't you?" as he took in the fact that all the cushions, towels, swimming attire and even the tile work on the tables and around the deck and bottom of the pools were all done in patterns that could help camouflage our glowing marks, something that Ethan pointed out to him. "It will make sense once we throw the girls in," he added, getting a screeched reprimand from Krista and Amilee.

Even though there was a ton of snacks and drinks out, everyone wanted to go swimming first. Julia asked if the pool was heated. "Of course," Tyson stated as he dropped his towel on a chair. "All the sunrooms and pool houses have photovoltaic glass." Yep, he was on that topic again – bipv glass solar energy.

I walked casually over to one of the lounge chairs and removed my jacket, draping it on the back of the chair as Drake dropped his T-shirt and towel on another. I tried to ignore the way that Drake watched at me as I slipped off my velveteen pants, but his unwavering gaze made me blush self-consciously. I walked over to where Emery and Amilee were standing at the side of the deep adult pool, and suddenly felt arms grasp my middle and heave me up. I squealed, turning as Drake literally dove into the water with me in his arms, seeing Roman do the same to Emery, and hearing Amilee screech at Ethan. Drake pulled me with him to the bottom, and I saw Sophia and Quinn dive into the water above us, followed by the others.

I wasn't frightened, if that had been his purpose; my skin naturally breathed for me. So, I touched his nose and laughed at him. Above us, Lukas, Erik, Julia, Roman and Emery treaded water at the surface, and Quinn and Sophia swam in lazy circles. Then the others jumped in, all 19 of my friends from the apartment, and Drake released me. I surfaced, greeting everyone, and getting splashed by a few of the more rambunctious of us.

Several of us played volleyball in the kid's pool, Lukas, Erik, Julia, and Emery included since they seemed more comfortable in kid's pool, considering that 5' of water is probably easier to play in than one which was closer to 9' in the center. But they did like the water shoot, especially Julia and Emery, who did it a several times.

When we climbed out to eat, I toweled off and put on my velveteen pants. Emery liked the Atrian music, but not as much as Julia did, though I could tell that it wasn't Erik's taste. Surprisingly, Lukas asked about our classical music, so Ethan played three of the most popular pieces while we ate dinner.

When dusk came, the lights went on, and Julia was utterly amazed with all the blue lighting everywhere: the rows of path, yard and deck lights, string lighting and patio lights in the sunroom, and even various tube lights and Christmas lights on the pool house as well as the lights wrapped in all the trees came on throughout the park strip.

I put on my jacket as Ethan called Meheka to let her know that Julia, Sophia and Emery wanted to stroll the park a bit to admire it. Drake and Roman went with us as Ethan, Amilee and I led my friends for a walk from one pool house to another and along the gardens. Quinn at one point took Sophia's hand, keeping to the back of our group as they talked quietly, and I saw him place a bit of jæsmenia blooms in her hair.

Roman and Emery and Erik and Julia walked arm in arm, and the guys even stole kisses a time or two. Drake stayed near me the whole time, but he didn't touch me or try to hold my hand. Oh well.

When we came back to Deon's house, the music was blaring and people were dancing. Drake and Roman stood off to the side with Dunon, Justin, Mason and Arnund, while everyone joined in moving to the music.

It was fun, so much more fun than the Winter Blast had been, even though I didn't get to dance with Drake at all. Lukas, yes; Ethan and Quinn, yes; even Gareth, and Erik danced with me at one point.

Naturally Ethan played several Cæveh and Sævad tunes, fekjæk ubieta azanym, the rich melodic music, sometimes with a upbeat percussion rhythm or with a complex one; some with a slow, introspective improvisation with the feel of rolling-breaking waves of the sea, and some which gradually built in speed and intensity like a storm or the effects of tidal streams – and for us, the Tgorasad, our dance moves reflect this, much to the delight and appreciation of our men. At least I think they all did.

Julia certainly embraced our way of dance, and Sophia and Emery had fun trying their best to emulate us. Lukas even tried to do it; but Drake and Roman simply stayed on the sidelines with cups of soda or juice in their hands, watching.

~~~~~o~~~~~ 

Monday morning my Hwatab voted on donating 400 crates from our shipping yard to be sent to the Sector. Patrik assured us that we had sufficient funds if we bought used crates to buy over 500. We estimated that we'd want about 900 – 1,000 crates when the huge Zæsak cargo freighter spacecraft came to evacuate us for the new planet (once we found the new planet, _and_ we rebuilt the ARDhet) and spread word to all Atrians which day we were leaving. According to Patrik, we only had 890 next to the old warehouse situated outside Edendale, some we'd planned on using to finish building Negea.

Jerdon smiled and shook his head. "Our Cæveh builders back home built twelve of the Nevjahre cargo freighter spacecraft."

There were several shocked expressions made and a few people voiced their disbelief. Nævjahre were supposedly huge, about 800 sekja long and enough cargo space to carry a city. Although, that could be an exaggeration, I thought until Jerdon said, "Mærsk Nævjahre is 11,000 osh. However, by normal calculations, the maximum capacity is much greater - somewhere between 13,500 and 15,200 osh."

Osh – osojia skepik hzesk – individual vault units – Crates! "But how big is one of our osojia skepik hzesk compared to a human shipping crate?" I asked.

"One osojia skepik hzesk would hold maybe nine of their crates," Jerdon said as Patrik made some very quick calculations.

"More like eighteen if they were stacked lengthwise."

"We could take the crates in the Sector," I said. I was thrilled. Everyone could keep what they owned if that was true.

"Can they be lifted?" Ihemn asked.

"I have no idea. I know that I saw welding between some of the crates, but I'm not sure. I know that humans use crates to build apartment buildings, but those are set on firm foundations. I think the crates in the Sector are simply stacked – possibly connected to each other for stability but most of the ground around the crates didn't look as if there was a foundation – it was simply well packed dirt," I said, wishing I could get in to the Sector to look around and check. Who would know? Would Roman? Drake? "And we have twelve Nævjahre ships?"

Daniel nodded. "We of the High Reaches accepted the fact that our sun was dying long before the tribes of the south did. We've been preparing for the exodus for years. The early ARD class exploration vessels were designed and built to explore the star systems, and we built several new ships to carry thousands of passengers for when the time came. Likewise we began storing our valuables, the artifacts and art from the museums and galleries were placed in vaults for shipping. The Nævjahre were built to carry those vaults to our new world. And there were standing approvals to build even more if there was time."

"The question is if the humans will let us take them," Ian stated.

"We've time to assess the practicality of their relocation when we can get more information," Meheka said. "On another note, Kurke and Deyne are here to report on the progress of their metallurgic endeavor."

The Hwatab meeting ran for well over an hour and a half. I was starving by the time all the new business had been concluded. However, after breakfast I'd be leaving with Daniel, Meride, Nanina and Patrik for Baton Rouge.

AtriDel headquarters were in Baton Rouge, but we couldn't fulfill all the necessary positions in the company with Atrians. Obviously – we didn't have enough people, let alone enough that were unmarked. Key positions were filled with our people, though. And AtriSolutions was the same; its corporate offices and its subsidiaries had their main offices in New Orleans, and all the key positions were filled with our people. None of the humans working there knew they worked for aliens. Even the members of the board thought that they worked for innovative humans scientists. So, those humans thought they ran the company, allowing the exceptionally smart scientists to continue doing what they did best – invent.

And I was considered to be the heir of the company. (Something I didn't let be known in school – could imagine the attention I'd get?)

So once a month, ever since my sixteenth birthday, I had to go attend the board meetings with my guardians, Daniel and Meride, with Nanina as my personal assistant and Patrik as my chief financial advisor. And I was to play bored kid; although I would secretly and carefully record everything for the Iksen to hear through the enhancements Reid made in my iPod and be able to hear the questions they had trough the ear piece.

So today I had the privilege (Mehake reminded me that morning) to attend their board meetings. Oh happy me.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Tuesday at school, I walked over to Roman at his lockers. "We did it!" I said to him.

"Did what?" he asked as he turned toward me.

"I've 432 crates for the Sector," I said, barely able to control my enthusiasm, and his eyes widened in surprise. "We're making them look distressed, rusted – but that will come off with acetone – we'll put enough of that in some of the crates, but it's all cosmetic, to fool the humans. I was told that if you ask someone named Weeble? to spread the word around once the crates start being moved in, the people won't mind. Besides, it will show the people inside the Sector that we, those outside, support them, right? And you of course, since you're the one who brought it our attention that they are needed."

"When?" he asked.

Somehow I thought he'd be happier. Didn't he know what a political coo this was for him? He managed to get more crates to improve living conditions within the Sector. "They available to move to the Sector as soon as the government lets us," I told him. "Thing is, my elders think that if you can convince Miss Garcia that the reason for the growing support of the Trags within the Sector is stemming from the overcrowding – that with the children growing up and the babies – you need more pods, she might convince her government. So some Trag-like demonstrations of unrest and dissatisfaction – a few, noticeable ones might actually work in our favor in this incidence."

Roman closed his locker. "I'll have a talk with Miss Garcia in a few days," he said, surprising me. "I have to have the Trags make a demonstration of unrest and dissatisfaction first, don't I?"

"A few won't hurt," I said, understanding. "I have a man in the SEU, and a human contact, they will approach you in your pod about the first one, but I hope you're alone. I don't want them exposed yet, and—"

"Who is he?" Roman asked.

I leaned in close to him. "Ryuta – he's a Zæsak who dyed his skin so he could be insinuated within the SEU Patrol Division."

"I'll talk to Drake, and we'll come up with something, some way to set them off, either tonight or tomorrow. Afterwards, I'll be at Drake's pod," Roman said, and I cocked my head. "I spend a lot of time in his pod anyway, and since he's my best friend and Strazhic ochrokuje – my Avizitan Ochrokaje, it won't look suspicious, and we won't be overheard there."

I nodded, pleased that he'd officially named Drake captain of his guard – about time too. "Once you hear from Miss Garcia that the government will allow her to start campaigning for more shipping crates to be donated to the Sector, have her contact, Solaris Solutions and Wiatri Kinetic. They're subsidiaries of AtriSolutions. Our companies will make it seem like a community giving project and will help boost her integration efforts. I hope."

He nodded. "Sounds good, I'll keep you posted."

I hurried off to my locker. However, I paused, staring at the small twig of delicate, yellow-veined red seedpods sticking out of the vent, rather similar in shape to a very pretty Chinese lantern and just as tissue-paper thin. Curious, as I had never seen seedpods like these, I pulled the stem out and examined them closely.

"Those are pretty," Emery said, stopping next to me. "Who are they from?"

"I've no idea," I said and turned to look at her. "Do you recognize them?"

"Nope," she said slowly. "But we can ask Mr. Delgado in Biology."

I took a picture of them with my phone and put them in my locker carefully, then walked with her to class. All through English lit I sat wondering what the seedpods were and who could've put them on my locker and why. Plants in our world not only are distinguished by their uses (whether they are edible, poisonous or medicinal or not), but they also have meanings. The seedpods were really pretty and unusual. Did I have a secret admirer or were they a threat of some kind? Could a Trag have put it there as a warning?

I was so distracted that I actually tripped up on Drake's boots on my way to my seat in chem.

I showed the pods to Mr. Delgado in Biology, but he didn't know them.

I placed them carefully back in my locker. They were so pretty I didn't want to damage them after all.

I asked Sophia about the pods as we sat down at the table for lunch. "Ah, no," she said with a shake of her head. "But they are pretty."

"I hoped you'd know what they were," I said as I shook my green drink. Yep, Nanina packed our lunches today.

"I'm not a herbologist. I could take one to the cultivators in the Sector," she offered.

But I didn't want to do that. Yet. I liked them. "Too bad you don't have a phone; I'd just download the pic and you could show it around."

I took them to the houses after school, but my Dævas, Cæveh and Zæsak elders didn't recognize it either.

So, I tacked the pods up on my wall above my desk at home, hoping I'd find out someday.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day there was a sprig of pink Bougainvillea flowers on my locker. Now that one I knew; it grew in abundance around town, had heart-shaped leaves with masses of pretty bracts but they had very sharp thorns. I looked around, but no one seemed to be paying me any attention; well, I was starting to draw attention by staring at everyone. I had no idea what message the thankfully thorn free steam was supposed to tell me, or who had put it on my locker. But this was twice now, and considering that the plant was so common around town, I suspected it was placed on my locker for the flowers. As a gift. But by whom?

I looked up what I could about the Bougainvillea plant in chem. I'd completed the questions on the chapter already – all of them, and I knew about the topic of Mr. Jacobson's lecture, having heard it from David Kraft ages ago. Bougainvillea was mildly toxic – to dogs. The long thorns were supposedly covered with a potentially irritating substance that could cause dermatitis or an allergic reaction – but they had been carefully removed. And that if the plant was digested in large enough quantities, it can lead to illness, but who would do such a thing?

I turned back to the chapter and after a few minutes figured out where Mr. Jacobson was in his lecture and tried to follow along, but my thoughts were too distracted. He asked for our homework, and I quickly shot off my answers as I flicked back to my research on Bougainvillea flowers.

"Do you have your paper?" Drake asked me.

"Oh, crap!" I said, putting down my iTablet. "I sent them to him already. I forgot—"

He turned the tablet with his finger to face him. "Is this what you've been doing in class?" he asked with a lopsided grin, and I blushed. "It's not Biology, and I don't believe that Mr. Delgado is covering horticulture this week?"

"No, he's not," I replied, slipping the tablet into my purse. "If you want, I can explain to Mr. Jacobson—"

"That you were distracted by a token from your secret admirer?" he asked with a chuckle. "No, I'll handle it."

I watched him walk away, wondering how he knew, then admonished myself. His locker is across the hall from mine. Did Drake know who put them on my locker? Was it him?

At lunch, Drake and Roman sat at the table next to me and my cousins.

"So have you figured out who your secret admirer is?" Julia asked as she and Emery sat between Justin and Loraine.

I shook my head and explained that in our culture some plants were left as a message or as a threat, which surprised her.

I looked up at Drake a few times during the half hour, but he either turned to look at Roman or turned his head to look at me. But he was smirking – I saw him smirking several times.

After school, Sophia came with us to The Bug, but neither Drake or Roman showed up. I asked Sophia where they were, but she said that they were 'doing something' and that they didn't want her involved. I presumed that I knew what they were up to. Hopefully tactfully and carefully.

~~~~~o~~~~~

On Thursday, there was a daisy on my locker. I asked Sophia, Loraine, Emery and Julia if they'd seem anyone near my locker, but of course they hadn't. Daisies are a human flower. Since we had an experiment to do in chem, I looked it up on the internet during break, almost making myself late to Biology. The daisy symbolized innocence, associated with purity, loyal love, beauty, patience and used to worn by little girls and historically by maidens and queens to decorate their hair. They were common in florist shops too. That didn't help any.

Drake laughed when I snuck peeks at him in class, and once he winked at me, making me blush as I quickly faced front.

He knew. He knew who was doing it. Unless he was the one putting them on my locker. But I never thought of him as the flower-giving type. Not that I knew him that well to know for sure.

But if he was the one doing it, why didn't he give them to me in person? It wasn't as if we never talked.

I went to my locker at the end of lunch and found another daisy. I looked around, but didn't see Drake anywhere. Byron yes, Gareth too, but when I asked them about the flowers in a text, they both told me they were not getting involved. So I suppose I could rule out a Trag threat, not that I believed that anymore. It was Drake. Or not. Could be, maybe.

I approached Drake at his locker after Algebra and asked him if he was going to The Bug. "Nope, can't," he said as he shut his locker. "Got things to do."

I looked away, disappointed. "Maybe tomorrow, if things work out," he said.

"Okay," I said with a smile. He regarded me a moment, then said bye and walked away.

I pressed one flower in a book at home to add to my other two pinned to the wall and put the second in a bud vase on my desk.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Friday there was a sprig of rosemary. I knew that rosemary was a cooking herb, but one that I loved the fragrance of so much, I even had a bath bar with lavender and rosemary in it.

However who my mystery admirer was still remained a mystery. Julia and Emery had fun guessing at my expense at lunch, but Sophia was oddly indifferent.

That afternoon after school, the news reports announced that the Sector was being locked down due to an increase of unrest in within the Sector. I called Ruthy in the SEU to ask her what was going on. "The Trags are acting out," she replied. "We've made a series of arrests, those on a list of key Trags in the Sector, but so far the Atrians are complaining about the living conditions. Not just the overcrowding, but sanitation and water distribution as well."

I had seen Roman, Drake, Teri and Sophia walking out of Miss Garcia's office that morning. Miss Garcia had a look of determination on her face.

"Get as much information as you can and bring it to the houses tonight. If Miss Garcia is able to convince the government to add more crates, I want nine of them stocked full with rain gutter supplies and cisterns. That should solve two problems in one move," I told her.

"I can put in the requisition forms for the materials for cisterns and for the crates. The director of the SEU is not impervious to pozatku; I'll make sure it's his idea for the additional crates and the rain collection system," she said. "How many do we have available?"

"500," I told her.


	19. Chapter 19

Looking for the Age of Aquarius

Chap 18 ("Good Things Come To Those Who Wait")

Breakfast was served after the Hwatab meeting, but since many of the Iksen and Seconds stayed in Meheka's dining room to eat, the talk generally continued for another hour.

I casually brought up something that I'd been wondering about, "Roman said something following the incident with the Suvek that stuck with me. He said that we were not the first Atrians here, that we entered this ukladesznej – _this_ planet's solar system because of a relay signal emanating from the orbit of the furthest planet – Pluto's orbit…"

"There was a relay drone set on the surface of a dwarf planet with a diameter of 1,600 sekja in the Kuiper belt at the edges of this solar system, which these humans designated it as Eris. But once the leaders of the Hwatabs determined that there were no Artians on this planet, Nox ordered us to continue looking, and the relay was turned off."

"So it's true, we were not the first ones here?" I asked. "Is this why we were all sent here? The Hwatb of both of our countries, to this one galaktyka?"

Meheka nodded solemnly. "We were led to believe that there was a colony of our own kind here already. However, there is no evidence that our people actually landed on this planet. They may have collected data and moved on, leaving a relay as an indicator."

"Is that why Uhstra and Vega wanted to land here so desperately – this data that was collected?" I asked.

Meheka shook her head as she made a slight shrug of her shoulders. "There are speculations," she said. "Castor wanted to land here, too. Edlund and Jasper were spreading rumors about our food and water supplies, saying that they were contaminated. One section's food did cause people to become sick, but not to the extent that Jasper and Castor were claiming. Edlund insisted we land to replenish our water and food supplies, but Nox didn't think it wise. He suggested using the drones to harvest ice from one of the moons orbiting the Jupiter and that we ration our food supplies until another ship could come and aid us."

That didn't make sense, according to what I remember from Sayora's mirszan we were in near the transitional range of the exosphere and thermosphere, the above the layer of where the Earth's satellites orbit when the pilot was shot. The ship descended into the thermosphere, and the electrically charged particles interfered with the ships onboard systems as Sayora fought to regain control of the ship… "How close were we to Earth when this was happening?" I asked.

"We were in orbit," Ian stated.

"In orbit – as in already here – detectable to humans?" I stammered. "How long?"

"Too long," Jerdon replied. "We were scanning the planet, confirming the data retrieved from the relay…"

"Yes?" I drawled out, wanting him to continue.

"When Nox woke and came onto the bridge," he said, and I nearly choked.

"He'd been asleep when we came into orbit around an inhabited planet?"

"Most of the Iksens still kept Atrian prime meridian time, so yes, we were all asleep when Ludin, the Avwadhik, and Phugh, the akez-avwadhik, brought the sip into orbit," Jerdon stated, speaking of the pilot and co-pilot on duty. "The Aviruzynoy, Halin, and Sayora took over at the start of their oszykta as Avwadhik and akez-avwadhik…"

I knew that Sayora was flight team with the second in command of the ship. "And were about to turn the ship around," I said, but two of my elders shook their heads.

"We were told that the druzynoy ordered us to stay in orbit to confirm the readings, then, depart. H_alin, the A_viruzynoy of the ARDhet, and I finished our anodzyty and made the final report," Sayora said. "Halinconfirmed that no Atrian life existed on the surface and that the planet was inhabited, which I acknowledged, and then he gave me the order to alter course, to leave orbit when… Well, that's when Castor came into the cockpit."

I remembered well what was on her flight recorder. "Could the Druzynoy have been in on the munity?" I asked, but Sayora looked affronted.

"NO," she said sharply. "He was an honorable warrior, and the best airman to come from fleet. He'd never disobey an order from our Iksen."

"I'm sorry, I – shouldn't have even considered it as a possibility." I let the matter drop for now. But why were we so close to the planet if Nox's orders were for us to move on? According to what I recall, his orders were made before he stood down from the bridge after the Hwatab meeting – hours before – apparently before Nox and the other Ik_sayan_ went to sleep. Could Ludin and Phugh have been part of the munity? But they were dead, I'd never know for sure. I still thought it possible that one or more of the Iksayan were part of the munity.

I excused myself and went upstairs to dress for school.

I listened to the news station on the radio as I drove to school with Loraine. Gloria Garcia was being interviewed in regards to the integration program, Atrian relations and the unrest currently being suppressed by the Sector council of elders.

I don't think I ever appreciated how much Gloria did. I saw a recap of an interview she gave in regards to the Suvek incidentthe night before. She clearly stated that Roman and Drake brought it to her attention and that they had retrieved it from the Trags within the Sector, planning on bringing it to her so she could turn it over to the authorities. "I was delayed by two young men at my home," she said, "And by the time I got to the school, Grayson Montrose, Justin Stone and his friend, Quinn Mason, were found hurt in the parking lot, coming around from being knocked out and beaten severely."

Justin and Quinn hadn't been taken by ambulance to a hospital. No, they'd used khayler to erase the memories of the EMTs, then gave them pozatku dipped in alcohol – what alcohol I have no idea – and then planted false memories and took the paperwork so there'd be no record. It worked.

However, Gloria's interview clearly put the blame of the incident on a small insurgent group of Atrians who had been trying to act out against the injustice of their incarceration within the Sector. "It's been ten years and very little trust has been gained. Most Atrians have demonstrated the desire for peaceful co-existence – even proposing sharing of their technology for the betterment of both our peoples to gain our trust," she said.

"Little does she know," Loraine said. "We've been doing it for years."

"For our own gains," I said and shushed her so I could hear the end of the interview. But the rest of the questions were not as interesting; some were frivols and some insulting.

At school, Roman approached me as I walked down the corridor to my locker. "Miss Garcia was at the Sector over the weekend, and she had a few of her political pals with her. So far, they believe what I've been saying about the Suvek and the Trags."

"So any progress on your little project?" I asked him. I spotted Drake talking to Teri across the corridor.

"Yes, although, how to get them to start approving crates is another matter," he said. Drake glanced in our direction.

I sidestepped a cluster of girls, turned for my locker and froze. There sticking out of the vent was another flower. Well, flowers, this stem had several.

"Maureen?"

I pulled it out, getting a smirk from Roman. "Nice."

"I seem to have an admirer," I said casually, looking at the three trumpet-like blooms and half-opened bud on my flower stem.

"Yes, I see that," he said with a lopsided smile. "Did you hear what I said?"

I looked at him, confused for a moment. "Oh, yeah – crates." I opened my locker. "I have someone already doing the paperwork on the crates. Have your Iksen speak to the SEU director about the overcrowding and the possibility of using cisterns to collect rain water. I think you'll find him to be very receptive."

"I've already done that," he stated.

I turned to look at him.

"Actually he approached us at our meeting, saying that if the Hwatab could make the residents settle down, he'd requisition for more crates."

"Way to go Roathy!" I said under my breath as Drake looked over in our direction again.

"Who?" Roman asked.

I huffed a laugh as Teri turned and eyed me suspiciously. "She is a Dævas who works in the SEU clerical/IT offices," I said softly so only he'd hear as rolled the stem in my fingers. "She dyed her skin rather than be bleached, it's really irritating and makes us break out, but for some it's a option. She goes by the name Ruthy." Across the corridor I saw Teri turn back to Drake and then flick her hand on Drake's chest.

"I know her, she's the one we go to for school supplies. Works for the director," Roman said, getting my attention, and his eyes widened for a second.

"Apparently the director of the SEU is not impervious to pozatku," I said, quoting Roathy. Roman's eyes narrowed, but I held up my hand, holding the flower. "Yes, I know it's illegal to use but in some instances it's necessary, and it harmless for humans. Besides, all uses have to be approved by an Iksen."

I saw Teri shaking her head, and I wondered what Drake had said to her. I really ought to get to know the girl a little.

"So once we get approval, do I contact you or… Maureen?" Roman said, drawing my attention away from Drake.

"Right. I – I'm not sure. I mean unless I come out to Gloria I'm not sure how to get her to approach our companies. I suppose going through Solaris Solutions is the best option; they have five subsidiaries that ship products across the country, and so far no one has realized that Atri-Solaris, AtriLuneta and AtriErgii are ours."

"Lukas figured it out – not that it was all that hard," Roman stated.

"But he knew that we have companies – most people believe that all Atrians are in the Sector," I said, watching Drake, watch Teri walk away. "I'd really like to be able to go back to the Sector," I said wistfully, twirling the flower in my fingers as he turned and looked at us.

"Really?"

"Yeah," I stated, turning my attention back to him. "Maybe you could work on getting another day for us humans to visit the Sector – make up a reason if you have to," I suggested as I placed my flower in the locker.

"The Vwasak and Swamad have Sawinzenia – the first day of spring; maybe we could invent something pertaining to that. Gloria would the idea of another communal gathering."

I turned to look at him. "Sawinzenia? I thought it was a time of planting – not feasting."

"It's the last day of frost in the spring – replanting spring vegetable gardens once the weather turns warmer. But not all of us have gardens to attend to; space around the Sector is limited to tops of the pods and a few crates with grow lighting," he stated. "But heck, it was only a thought."

"No, it's a good one," I said. I've noticed that we don't really get much frost after January so our own planting started in February. "We could be encouraged to bring seedlings to the Sector… as gifts, tokens of hope, growth and prosperity."

"Not that humans care about our prosperity," he said. "I'll mention it to Gloria later today."

He walked off, and I took out my phone to snap a pic of my flowers. Another human plant? It had obviously been snapped off, the end was not clean cut. But there wasn't any human boys at the school who remotely seemed interested in me. Not that I was all that interested in any human males, when there were delectably handsome muscular Itrejivils… Who was I kidding? Ethan was simply pulling my sorotka.

I typed 'February flowers' into my phone and scanned down the pictures.

"Sweet," Julia said. "He gave you Asystasia today."

I looked at her. "You know this one?"

"Yeah, my mom grows them; it's called a Chinese Violet," she stated. "Still no idea who your admirer is?"

I shook my head, looking over at Drake as Roman approached him. I wish it was him, I thought as I closed my locker. "Nope, but I'm intrigued. I asked—" I was about to say Byron and Gareth, but caught myself in time, "my cousins, but no one has seen who it is." Neither Byron and Gareth knew – or they wouldn't tell me – but then Justin just made wipkowaks about it. Here I thought Justin, Byron, Gareth, Mason and Arnund were assigned to watch over me, and they didn't know who was leaving flowers on my locker? That wasn't being _observant _in my book.

"Well, if I were you and I had someone leaving flowers on my locker every day, I'd be carrying it around," Julia stated.

"I don't want to damage it, and it would be conspicuous to be carrying around a flower all day," I pointed out, spotting Sophia. I waved at her, catching both hers and Drake's attention. He nodded once, his mouth pulled back in a half grin as Sophia approached me.

"Hey, if Gloria asks, Sawinzenia celebrates the last day of frost and is a time of planting and the spring feast. Guests bring seedlings as gifts, tokens of hope, growth and prosperity," I said.

"Okay," she said slowly as we turned to walk to class. "Why?"

"So we can have another reason to go to the Sector," I said cheekily, making Julia smile at the suggestion.

"So you're making up a holiday to you have a reason to come visit us?" Sophia asked, and Julia looked at us questioningly.

"I think it's clever – do you think Gloria will buy it?" Julia asked, her eyes alight.

"Any excuse, right?" I asked her, and Julia nodded, adding, "Definitely," getting a laugh from Sophia.

"You know, if you want to come visit, we could always sneak you in," Drake said.

I hadn't realized he'd been behind me. "I'd like to be able to come in anytime I'm invited, seasonal reason or not," I stated. "Just back Roman on this, will you?"

"Sure," Sophia said with a smile, but Drake simply regarded me steadily.

"If there is anything I can do, let me know?" Julia said.

"We may need to organize a afternoon filling baskets and hanging planters with seedlings to give to the residents," I suggested.

"I'm on it," she said and scooted off to class.

"And once again we become a charity," Drake said as he walked off.

"Don't listen to him," Sophia said. "I think it's great. And you're right, it will promote goodwill."

At the end of English I was surprised to find Drake exiting the class the same time I did, and he even walked with me to chem, which was a nice surprise. I asked him how things were going in the Sector with the Trags, and he said that he and Roman had them under control. "What do you mean? They're quieting down, aren't they?"

"Not exactly, the unrest is still brewing, but so far, no explosions," he said. "There is a lot of complaining about overcrowding. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Ah, yeah, only if we do this holiday—"

"Which isn't an Atrian holiday," he interjected.

"But the humans don't know that," I pointed out. "Besides, loads of human traditions fit around solstices and equinoxes, planting, harvesting, hunting and such – much like our early ancestors did." We'd streamlined and combined many of our traditions when the tribes began to unite.

He leaned in toward me and lowered his voice, "If you really wanted to come to my pod again, I will find a way to sneak you in."

The thought alone sent a shiver down my spine. I bit my lip as I looked up at him. I didn't know how to answer that – I wanted to but didn't know where I stood with him. He was flirting with me, much like he had in the agriculture cave at the houses. I wanted to… I did, I think, but only if it meant we were together, not just, as the Loraine had said, a fling. I mean, he just broke things off with Taylor. "I'll keep that in mind," I finally said.

He laughed, indicating I enter the classroom. "Let me know," he said and walked to his seat.

At the end of chem, Drake was once again the first to leave the classroom. I admit, I felt dejected, but I ran into Loraine and brought her up on the idea of Sawinzenia feast.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Inventing holidays now are we?"

"Just spread the words as if you already knew about it," I said. "Tell Emery and Lukas."

"Done," she said with a shrug.

I looked for Drake at lunch, but he and Roman were sitting with the other Atrians discussing something. I hoped it was about the spring feast.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next morning there was a stem sporting two pretty, downcast greenish-purple Lenten Rose flowers and a partially opened bud on my locker. Clearly whoever my admirer was he picked them from someone's garden. And even though I knew that hellbores were poisonous, I knew that was not the message being given to me.

I quickly took a picture of my gift and slipped it out to put it safely in my locker.

"Why do you hide them?" Drake asked me.

I turned. "I'm not hiding them, I – so they don't get damaged." I closed my locker and leaned against it. "No one seems to know who's leaving them. Do you?"

He smirked. "Maybe they're just not telling you," he said.

"So you know?" I asked, standing up.

"I might," he replied, taking a step away from me. "But where is the fun in that?"

I moved toward him. He knew. "You're not going to tell me?" I asked, wondering who it could be if they were not from him.

"I didn't say that," he said. I could tell that he as teasing me; he was acting like Justin did when he knew something I didn't, but all I got from Drake was his sense of amusement.

"But you know. Is it you?" I asked, but he simply gave me a noncommittal smirk, but didn't reply. "Please tell me."

"I think you'll have to figure this one out on your own," he said and turned to go to class. I caught up to him, but even though I tried to prod at him to tell me, he just repeated that I'd have to figure it out for myself. He changed the subject to which dystopian post-apocalyptic novel I'd chosen and why. I had picked the _Divergent_ series for no reason other than they seemed like they'd be fun to read; Loraine had picked the _Hunger Games _for the same reason (we'd downloaded both series on our tablets), but he was reading _The Stand_ by Stephen King.

"It's missing pages unless you get the complete and uncut edition," I told him.

"What?" He cocked his head at me. "He wrote an extended version of the story? How do you know that?"

"Jason was talking about it; he loves King's stories. They're too gruesome for me, but he found a copy of the extended version after reading the original. I think it has five hundred pages of material that had been deleted previously for some reason. Apparently, King added stuff, changed the date and the setting… I can lend you a copy of the uncut version if you'd like it?"

"Sure," he said, thanking me.

I smiled as he walked to his seat.

When English let out, Drake once again walked with me to chem.

Not only that, but he and Sophia joined us at our table for lunch. Well, tables; with Erik, Julia, Emery and Roman eating with us, we had to cram two tables together. Ethan was right; we were the popular click lately.

I saw Grayson eating with his friends and rather wished that he would talk to us, especially with everything he knew, but he was so far keeping his distance. I wasn't sure if that had to do with us or because of Emery, since I knew he'd really liked her – a lot.

Taylor was another who was keeping her distance. Her arm was now in a cast, and she still had the neck collar on, but I swear she was the only girl I knew who could look beautifully fashionable in a neck collar and sling.

That evening at The Bug, Drake joined us at the tables. Okay, we'd outgrown the big booth, so we took up a section for us to gather in with small tables and lots of stools. People mingled more, sharing baskets of fried foods, but Drake sat on the stool next to mine with Emery and Roman at our table as we discussed how we were going to pull off Sawinzenia, although Roman was also keeping an eye on Quinn and Sophia. Yep, the not-a-holiday was being promoted as an Atrian holiday celebrating the last frost and the coming planting of crops. Maybe this is how holidays started anyway.

Drake leaned toward me and said softly, "You do know that technically if sawinzenia was celebrated at this time of year it would be a Tgorasad holiday and not an Itrejivil one; our sawinzenia is their jesiennia."

He was right; the Vwasak had the same seasons as the Tgorasad, but the Swamad, Zwahan and Iwabas lands were in the mostly in the southern hemisphere. "Do you have a better idea for an excuse to open the Sector gates to guests?"

"I know a loose panel that I can sneak you through. Would you be daring enough to try it?" Drake asked, taking one of my chicken strips with a shit-eating grin.

"I dunno, I might. But is it safe?" I asked him. The idea thrilled and frightened me at the same time. Would I really tempt it?

"Would you come?" Drake asked.

"Oh, of course she wouldn't miss a chance to go," Loraine said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I had been so distracted by Drake's suggestion I hadn't seen her approach us. "Julia is organizing a drive; we'll get trays of vegetable seedlings to put in the baskets, and Gloria is going to have the whole class attend again."

Good. Apparently she hadn't heard Drake's suggestion.

"Yeah, vegetables," Drake said drolly.

"Would you prefer I gave you flowers instead of tomatoes?" I asked him, and Emery laughed at his expression.

"No, I like tomatoes, but where would I put them?" Drake asked.

"You're welcome to hang your tomatoes in our garden," Roman stated.

"You've a garden?" I asked, and he nodded. I didn't take Roman as the type to dig in the dirt.

"When you come, Drake and I can show you the garden my father and I built," he offered.

"I'd love that," I exclaimed. "Is it in a crate with grow lights or on the top of the crates?"

"Above our pod," Roman stated.

"Yeah, you have a great view of the river and the city," Drake said, and I turned to look at him. "I spent evenings up there with Roman and his dad, looking out across the water at the city lights, knowing they had a freedom I didn't have."

"Able to see beyond but not able to go," I said in understanding.

"From the prison home, the lights of the fire that shine in the darkness beyond are not beacons but taunting reminders that we are not alone. Yet we be forgotten."

I wondered whom he was quoting, but didn't ask.

I excused myself for the bathroom and when I came back, Drake was talking to Ethan and Amilee – and Amilee was all smiles, a giddy, shit–eating smile. Okay, I'm glad that Drake and Ethan were getting on all right – but why those two? What was Amilee up to now? It was bad enough that Justin, Ethan and Quinn teased me about my crush on Drake, calling him_ my_ Vwasak warrior – constantly, but Amilee's conspiring tendencies were bound to become legendary. We all knew that having Sophia as her sister-in-law was her current pet project, not that Quinn objected.

When we were all leaving, Quinn immediately offered to drive my friends to the Sector, and Sophia accepted. Drat. I drove home with Loraine.

"So what was Drake daring you to do?" Loraine asked once I pulled out onto the hwy.

"Nothing, we were talking about Sawinzenia," I lied.

"Ah-huh, he was asking you to do something that you thought unsafe," she stated.

Shoot, she did hear it.

She was silent for about a second, then twisted in her seat to look at me. "He suggested that you sneak into the Sector, didn't he?"

"That's the whole point of making up this holiday," I pointed out to her. "So we can go to the Sector again."

"Please tell me you're not going to try to break into the Sector?" Loraine asked.

Of course she'd figured it out. "He was teasing me, that's all," I said, hoping to diffuse the topic.

"Ah-huh," she said, staring at me. "The SEU does perimeter checks every morning and at the start of the evening shift. If there was a way in, they'd know."

"So obviously there isn't, and he was only teasing me," I stated, hoping she'd let it go.

"And if you get caught, or worse a Trag sees you…?"

"Loraine, really? Like you said, the SEU monitors the perimeter every change of shift. With dogs. He was joking, that's all," I said.

"Ah-huh," she said, settling back in her seat. "You better mean that. The elders would freak if they thought you were going to try and sneak in there."

Well that was true, but the idea still sent shivers down my spine: sneaking in to spend time alone with Drake – in his pod, alone, again. It was an invitation – an actual invitation. My heart raced at the thought.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Wednesday, I was disappointed that my secret admirer didn't leave me a token flower. I hadn't realized how much I looked forward to them every day.

I looked about, but I didn't see Drake anywhere.

I opened my locker with a heavy sigh, exchanged my things, putting Jason's copy of _The Stand_ inside to give to Drake later, and closed it. I walked to English, wondering why he'd forgotten, if he'd forgotten. Maybe he was late to school today. Maybe they weren't from him after all. Not that it mattered, Drake was showing an interest in me again and that's all that really mattered.

I glanced over at Drake as I entered the classroom. He was watching me, his hand holding his pen to his lip, making it hard to read his expression. It almost seemed like he was laughing at me.

I hurried to my locker after class, hoping my flower might have appeared, then rushed to chem, arriving just in time to set things up for our experiment. Gads I was a glupie. He poured the detergent in the graduate container over the dry ice in warm water.

I stared at the beaker, not really watching the slightly larger inner bubbles quickly pushed to the surface as the outer bubbles shrunk in size. Lazily, I scooped out a hand-full of the large, golf-ball-sized bubbles and watched them shrink on my palm.

"Well, that one's done," Drake said as I washed off my hand.

We started the second dry ice experiment. "What's got you so preoccupied?" Drake asked as he wiped a soapy cloth across the lip of the container to create a soap film sheet.

"Nothing," I replied automatically as he did it again to get it right. He cocked his eyebrows at me and he dropped the cloth. "It's nothing really, just things…" I know I sounded disappointed, but heck, I couldn't help it.

Drake just laughed at me as film gradually inflated into a bubble. "Getting all mopey, are we?"

I shook it off. "No, it's just – I have, things on my mind." I hunkered down and concentrated on the next step of the experiment. Drake watched me, his inventiveness distracting me more than once. He was amused, I could feel it. That's all I needed. The bubble gradually inflated into a misty, colorful crystal ball that undulated gracefully to the air currents in the room, showing off horizontal bands of spectral colors. It was pretty.

I actually had to look at my notes to finish the questions, much to Drake's further amusement.

At the end of class, I took our worksheet up to Mr. Jacobson with the copies of both Drake's and my homework assignments. Oddly, Drake was standing near the door as if waiting for me. "Oh, I have something for you in my locker," I said, remembering the book I borrowed from Jason. We walked to my locker and I gave him the hardcover book. "Hope you enjoy it."

"Is this a first edition?" he asked, looking through the book.

"I dunno, he bought it off eBay. Hope you like to read? It's 1152 pages."

"Yes, I like to read." He shrugged. "Gives me something to do at night," he replied.

"Drake, you're one of the best students here. You always have your homework done and you get top marks," I stated.

He chuffed a laugh. "When we were told that the government was going to pick the top students in the Sector for Gloria's program – I buckled down and did what I had to so I'd be chosen," he said. "I wanted out, and this was the only way I could. Besides, I generally had good grades anyway. There isn't a lot to do in the Sector."

I suppose that made sense. I smiled at him. "If you want more by King, I'll ask Jason to give you another."

"Thanks," he said. We walked to Biology together. I asked him, "Didn't you want to get a snack before class?" as I dug out two P3 packs from my bag. I loved those things, almost as much as those Lunchables for kids.

"Nope, I'm fine," he said as I handed one to him anyway. "Thanks," he said, pocketing it for later.

Once again at lunch, our table sat ten: Emery and Roman, Julia and Erik, and Sophia and Drake joining me and my cousins, Drake sitting next to me. I rather liked that he did, and I was starting to get the feeling like he'd like to start things up with me again.

"So what flower did _your secret admirer_ give you today?" Julia asked me.

I shook my head. "Nope, I didn't get one today," I said as I glanced at Drake to see his reaction. Nothing. Not even a flicker in his expression. Drat. I was so sure.

"Have you figured out who he is, yet?" she asked.

"We can all guess," Erik said, staring at Drake.

"If I liked a girl, she'd know it," Drake replied nonplused, then purposefully turned to talk to Roman and Emery.

I looked at Julia. "It's nice to be noticed, whoever he is."

"It's kinda romantic, in an old-fashioned kind of way," she said, and Erik rolled his eyes. "Well, it is."

"I'm pressing them. That way I can keep them forever," I said sappily. "I saw some online – the flowers were between pieces of glass. It was pretty. I thought it would be fun to do."

Julia made a few other suggestions, and a few guesses on who the guy could be, but Erik changed the subject, asking her how Bruce was running. Men.

Still, beside me, Drake didn't even react to the fact I was getting flowers from someone. In fact you'd think he didn't hear our conversation at all for all that he ignored it. I knew he was the protective type, but talk about a guy liking me didn't seem to bother him at all. Maybe he wasn't the flowers type, but apparently he wasn't the jealous type either. Funny thing, he was paying me more attention now than he had before the first time we started… Well, could I call it dating? We hadn't exactly been on a date. I mean he didn't actually ask me to go with him to the carnival; we sort of just hooked up there for a bit. But regardless, I liked it, whatever this was.

Maybe he knew I still liked him. Not that I was concealing it from him.

I'll have to talk to Loraine about what this was later.

After school, we went to The Bug. It had been fun, everyone meeting up, hanging out. Drake, Erik and Jason got into a debate about who was better: Stephen King, Luis StGeorge, or Daniel LaMount. I was reading the last installment of George. R.R. Martin's _Ice and Fire_ series.

However, on my car, tucked under the windshield wiper was a piece of paper rolled into a cone holding a few kuraya blooms_, a __small blue aromatic flower __that just happened to be__one of my__ favorite__s. I inhaled the scent and looked around. They looked fresh, not as if they had been __here all along in the sun. __And they were Atrian flowers, not Earth. That meant they were from an Atrian. _

"Guess who?" Jason asked, walking up to me.

"So you got your flowers," Justin said as he put his forearms on the hood. "Can we go now, or are you going to smoon over them all evening?"

"Back off," Loraine. "It's amazing that Kristin pays you any mind at all – you haven't a romantic bone in your body."

"Yeah, it's my body she likes," Justin stated. "Okay, there's the Vwasak now," he said, hitching his thumb at the Atrians getting into Quinn's SUV. I looked up, seeing Drake opening the door for Teri as Roman climbed in the other side. Drake stopped, looked at me, and jutted his head once as I waved at him. I rather wished that I was driving him home, then I could ask him if these came from him.

"Go kiss him and let's get going," Justin said.

"Uderzak ze," Loraine said as I unlocked the car with the remote, still watching Drake. "Don't take your frustration out on Mahureen. Kristin probably just had something better to do today."

Drake made a lopsided smile and got in the car, so I opened my door and got in as well, ignoring my cousin's squabble. I could always thank Drake tomorrow for the flowers.

"Great, can we go now," Justin said.

"Yeah, we can go now," I said and started the car.

~~~~~o~~~~~

The next day I saw a runettica flower sticking in the vent of my locker. I pulled it out confused. If Drake was my admirer, then how did he get this one? They didn't grow in the Sector, did they? They needed the humidity of the caves… the right kind of glow lights and foamy khurst. I remembered seeing the Atrians getting off the SEU bus as I walked in from the parking lot, but Drake hadn't been with them.

"That's pretty," Sophia said.

"Do you know this one?" I asked her but she shook her head.

"But I don't know our plants as well as Teri does. You could ask her."

"No, it's alright, I just wondered if you had them in the Sector?" I said as I placed my flower carefully in my locker.

"I don't know," she said, looking away. I had a feeling that she knew who it was, but wasn't telling me. That was all right, it didn't matter anyway; if my admirer wasn't Drake, then I didn't care anymore. He liked me, I knew it. "Did Drake leave the Sector early?"

"Yeah, he did," Sophia said as we turned to go to class. "He said he had to meet someone before school."

And if that someone was Amilee, then that could explain how he got the runettica flower. If he did. "Who? Do you know?"

"Nope," she replied.

I wasn't the least bit surprised to see Drake was sitting at his desk in English, smirking at me behind the pen in his hand. However, instead of waiting to walk me to chem, he was out the door as usual. Oh, well. It had been nice while it lasted.

When I arrived in chem, Drake was in his seat, legs stretched out as usual, but oddly there was another runettica bloom lying on my desk. We were back to the game where I had to ask him to move his feet? Really? But when he moved his foot there was mirth in his blue eyes. "Thank you," I said as I moved past him.

"You're welcome," he said back.

I picked up my flower as I sat down."That's sweet. Who's it from?" Lisa asked as she slid into her seat.

"Home," I replied, tucking the bloom carefully on my bag.

"Yeah right," she said. "Fine, don't tell me."

However, as I left the classroom, Drake cornered me in the hall. "You are so dense," he said.

"Pardon me?"

He held up another runettica flower.

"You. It _is_ you," I breathed, elated. "But you didn't admit it when I asked you."

"You never asked me, you asked if I knew – besides it was fun watching you look them up as your own personal horticultural project," he said.

"Flowers have meanings," I told him.

"Meanings?" he asked, his eyebrows raised slightly. Apparently he didn't know that. "Well, this is my meaning," he said as cupped my face. He kissed me. It was soft and sweet, and I tilted my head up and kissed him back. Gads but he was a good kisser.

"I guess this means we're dating?" I asked when he stopped and opened my eyes.

"It means we're together," he said.

Good enough for me. "Yes," I replied.

Drake sat next to me at lunch. Julia was amazed that Drake was my admirer; she, like me, didn't see him as the type, although neither Sophia or Emery were surprised, and apparently Roman knew, because he and Erik both teased me about how long it took me to figure it out. Even Loraine admitted to knowing.

"You were all in on it?" I asked them.

"Oh, you do well with the big issues, but when it comes to guys and relationships… you're hopeless," Loraine said with a laugh.

"But it was fun watching to stress over it,' Emery said, laughing.

"Course, he had a little help with the flowers," Roman said as he nudged Emery.

"Only the hellebores," she admitted.

"Bougainvillea," Erik said, flicking his hand. Julia gaped at him. "What? If I were to give _you_ flowers it would be a rose."

"Very appropriate," Julia said.

"But how did you get the runettica flower?" I asked Drake.

"Who else – Amilee," he said.

Of course. I'm so going to thank her tonight – and maybe buy that red dress she wanted on my way home.

After Algebra I asked Sophia and Drake if they'd like a ride to The Bug. Of course they said yes. I went to my locker and saw a piece of paper sticking out of the side. I pulled it out and examined it; the corners were folded over each other sealed with a small piece of tape. With no writing on the outside. Drake approached me. "Did you?" I asked, holding up the odd envelope.

"No," he said as I opened it. Drake looked over my shoulder as I looked at the left slanted, spiky writing.

_You human girls ought to know better than messing around with those alien boys._

_Pick someone of your own kind if you know what's good for you_.

Drake snatched the letter out of my hand. "When did you get this?"

"Just now," I said, looking at the threat in his hand.

Drake looked down the corridor in both directions.

"Drake?"

"It's a threat," he stated. He walked up to Justin.

"I know it is," I stated as I trotted along behind him.

Drake showed Justin the letter. "Right, when?" Justin asked, all serious and in warrior-mode.

"Just now," Drake replied, but I added, "Sometime between the end of lunch and now after Algebra."

"Okay, we'll handle this," he said firmly and pulled out his phone, sending a text to… Ian, I suppose.

Drake turned and walked over to Roman.

I hoped that this didn't mean he'd change his mind about us.

~~~~~o~~~~~

Surprisingly Byron pulled me aside when I got home. "We need to talk," he said in that tone that always made my gut clinch. I followed him, not to his unit, but to the one Dunon, Gareth, Mason and Arnund lived. Ethan, Quinn, and the other scouts that lived in the apartment were all waiting.

"You're attracting the Trag's notice," Byron stated.

"And the Red Hawks in school," Gareth added.

"I know that," I said and pulled out the note.

Arnund snatched it from me and angled the page so that Mason and Trenton could read it as well. "When were you going to tell us about this?" Arnund snapped as he handed it to Gareth.

"I told Justin!" I said in my defense. "I assumed he'd have told Ian, who would have alerted everyone – including you."

"That's it, I'm enrolling in that school," Dunon said, fisting the note in his hand.

"Do you have any idea who wrote this?" Gareth asked Byron as Mason and Dunon left. Just turned and stormed out.

"We've been watching her locker as best we can between classes, ever since the second flower was placed on her locker – the common human shrub they like so much," Justin explained.

"The Bougainvillea flowers?" Trenton asked.

"We still have no idea what the seed pods were, but I'm willing to bet they were from the Iwabas grow house," Garth stated. "Trujhas, is my guess, it's not balha, thankfully, but possibly in the same genius."

"Why would Drake give me seedpods from the Iwabas grow house? He's not a Trag anymore," I stated.

"We don't know why he did, but he is not doing this alone," Byron stated.

"Wait, you knew and you didn't tell me?" I asked him sharply.

"I knew," Byron said "and he enlisted your friend to help him."

"Yes, I know. But why didn't you tell me?" I asked but he grit his teeth. "Why?" I demanded.

"Loraine gave him the runettica flowers," Byron stated.

"No, Amilee did, he told me," I said.

"But the others?" Trenton asked.

"We knew Drake was doing it, although I thought it was some kind of sick joke, only you got all dzieswik about it," Byron said. "He's been playing the game with her for two weeks, now."

"That doesn't matter, the note is our primary concern," Gareth stated. He looked at me. "You don't go anywhere where we don't know where you are, you got me?"

"Yes, I understand," I said, not that _that _would be any different than what I had been doing. I wondered how Drake would take this.

_Notes_:

The experiments are from the internet.

Luis StGeorge, or Daniel LaMount are not current authors – I made them up.


End file.
